Memories of Dalmasca

[Rjol]

Hello all! This is my first post here, and I’m very pleased to be in such wonderful, talented and inspiring company! This is my very first time writing a story for a character and I wanted to share it with likeminded people, so I truly hope you all will enjoy it. In addition to what I will be posting here, you can find the same story (with pictures!) on my Tumblr, under the name Memories of Dhalmasque. If you have any feedback or criticisms I would very much appreciate hearing from you. I am writing in the style of a mémoire from the perspective of a Rava Viera (soon to be my main) who has left the Wood, only to experience firsthand the problems of the outside world, from love to loss, war and peace and everything in-between. I understand that the Viera are not yet in-game, so I have left much about them vague but I have taken great liberties when it comes to Rabanstre in general, basing most of my ideas of the city on pure imagination and the Rabanstre of FFXII. The story is still being written and names and places may change in the future, but with that out of the way, I would like to first introduce the characters and bits of their biographies, then move on to the actual mémoires. Thank you for reading! 

 

 

 

[Rjol]

Supporting Characters ~ Volume 1

 

Name: Fero El’Zia

Job: Bard

Affiliation: Bards’ Guild of Rabanstre

Place of Origin: Rabanstre

Current Residence: N/A

Status: Deceased 

Realtionship Status: N/A

Relationship to Rjol: Former lover

 

Biography, Part I

Fero Mahyr El’Zia was born and raised within one of Rabanstre’s oldest merchant families. His ancestors helped found the Muthru Bazaar, an open market famed for its wares domestic and foreign, commonplace and exceedingly rare. When Fero was still a very young child, his grandfather gifted him a small but exquisite harp he picked up on one of his many voyages overseas to procure goods for one of the family’s shops. The young Fero loved the instrument, less for its beautiful sound and more as a device he could use to frighten the family’s exotic pets. However, as he grew older so did his appreciation of music deepen. At the behest of his mother, he applied, and was immediately admitted, to the Rabanstran Academy of the Arts. Here he made friends with Vaziq Fremont, exceptionally skilled with the lute, and Mharani Rozvin, a vivacious fiddler. The three spent much time together, writing songs in the music halls and then performing them at local faires and in the Bazaar where they were celebrated for their prodigious talents while still being so young. When the trio graduated from the Academy, they were quickly admitted to the local Bards’ Guild. A famed institution known for housing some of the finest bards in all the world. At the guild, Fero refined his style into something deeper and more romantic than the old, tired songs of adventure and merry jigs he had played a thousand times over. He often brought his harp to the open courtyards and near the many fountains of Rabanastre in an attempt to gauge the reaction of the ladies that frequented these areas. His new, original repertoire proved massively popular and soon Fero, Mharani, Vaziq and Garance, an Elezen woman with a talent for instruments from the Far East, formed a musical group they called Esoterica... An ode to their musical style - a fusion of mysterious and beautiful sounds mixed with the more traditional fare familiar to Dalmascan audiences. The quartet performed regularly at taverns in and around Rabanstre, gaining more and more of a following after each performance. The group was abruptly split apart when Garance left Rabanstre without warning to enhance her studies in the Far East. The remaining bards, though disheartened, were insightful enough to know that they would never achieve the same level of popularity without Garance’s unique flavor to color their sonic landscape, and decided to embark on their own musical journeys. Mharani and Vaziq formed a duo, playing classical Rabanstran waltzes and sarabandes at various high society functions. The money was good and this was the sort of music the two of them always excelled at performing. Fero, however, decided to continue as a solo harpist and singer. His harp playing was so refined yet unrestrained, so elegant and passionately wild that, when mixed with his voice, at once angelic and ashen, it was impossible not to be deeply moved. His reputation as a bard grew into fame so unrivaled that his presence was sought out by nobles and aristocrats as far away as Eorzea. It was an exceedingly hot afternoon when Fero first caught sight of a Viera he had not yet seen in Rabanstre. He had met a handful of Viera in the city and knew them all by name, though they were hard to get to know beyond that. He was passing an ornate fountain near the city’s eastern gates when he saw her, sitting on the edge of the fountain, running her left hand through the cool water. Their eyes met for a brief moment, yet something in his heart seemed to explode and shimmer all the way down to his feet and up into his head. Though he was no stranger to amourous affairs, never before had he felt such a pleasantly shocking sensation, and he would not rest until he knew more of this enigmatic, beautiful foreigner ...

 

[Rjol]

Supporting Characters ~ Volume 1

 

Name: Vaziq Fremont

Job: Bard

Affiliation: Bards’ Guild of Rabanstre

Place of Origin: Rabanstre

Current Residence: Shirogane

Status: Alive 

Realtionship Status: Partnered with Mharani Rozvin

Relationship to Rjol: Close friend

 

Biography, Part I

Born in Rabanstre twenty-two summers before its fall to the Garlean Empire, Vaziq was raised in an affluent family, rich not only in gil but also in its history as a family of renowned bards. He grew up in total admiration of his father, a bard who specialized in the lute and who would often sing Vaziq to sleep with lullabies collected from around the world. When Vaziq reaches his twelfth summer he was admitted to the junior division of the prestigious Rabanstran Academy of the Arts, where he outshone nearly all of the other students in his skill with the lute and lyric writing. It was here that he met his two closest friends, Mharani Rozvin, a prodigious fiddler, and Fero El’Zia, a harpist with the voice of a fallen angel. The three boys eventually graduated with honors and were promptly inducted into the local Bards’ Guild. It was here that they formed a musical quartet with a foreign Elezen girl, Garance Trisaux, who specialized in instruments from the Far East. They named their musical group Esoterica, and enjoyed immense popularity for their inclusion of exotic and foreign instruments which added a unique color to the Dalmascan music so beloved by the locals. It was during this era that Vaziq and Mharani developed intimate feelings for one another and began a semi-secret relationship, obvious only to those closest to them, which still persists to this day. The group disbanded when Garance secretly moved far to the east, to the Kingdom of Doma, without so much as saying goodbye. Vaziq and Mharani continued playing classical Dalmascan music for various glitzy, upperclass events in the city, while their good friend Fero made a name for himself throughout most of the known world. They all stayed closely in touch and supported one another the best they could. Eventually, Mharani moved into Vaziq’s glamorous townhouse in the northern district of the city, where they lived open and free lives, often hosting private fêtes full of music, dance, exotic food and drink, and philosophical conversation. Though these idyllic days would be remembered for as long as he lived, Vaziq could sense something faint in the air, something that would alter the future forever, beyond imagination ...

[Rjol]

Supporting Characters ~ Volume 1

 

Name: Mharani Rozvin

Job: Bard

Affiliation: Bards’ Guild of Rabanstre

Place of Origin: Rabanstre

Current Residence: Shirogane

Status: Alive 

Realtionship Status: Partnered with Vaziq Fremont

Relationship to Rjol: Close friend

 

Biography, Part I

Mharani’s parents were both employed in the palace of Rabanstre and had no connection to music whatsoever. His mother was a seamstress to the royal family and his father oversaw the kitchens. The family were granted an apartment in the palace, recently vacated by the music tutor to the royal children, who left behind an out-of-tune fiddle in the bedroom that would come to belong to Mharani. The young, rambunctious child was delighted to find the instrument, much to the annoyance of his parents. Mharani practiced every day on the old fiddle, until his parents finally acknowledged his talent. Upon his 10th birthday, his parents gifted him with a brand new fiddle and an application to the Rabanstran Academy of the Arts. He stunned all of the professors who sat in to judge him during his audition with his skillful playing, learned solely on his own by mimicking the sounds of the palace musicians. He was promptly admitted to the Academy where he was put in advanced classes with children already a few years older than him. Here he met Vaziq Fremont and Fero El’Zia, students who began studying two years prior to his own acceptance. Though he was younger than the both of them, he matched them in talent and wit and the three became fast friends. They spent their days enveloped in music and laughter, growing up together in the Academy and eventually moving on to the prestigious Bards’ Guild of Rabanstre. In these musical halls the bards met the elegant Elezen with a superior talent for all instruments oriental; Garance Trisaux, and together formed a musical group, Esoterica, and enjoyed great success for their new and exotic sounds. One night after a performance at a rather luxurious inn, Vaziq asked Mharani to stay behind when the others left so that they could talk over wine about the future of the group. However, it was the future of the two of them that Vaziq truly wanted to discuss, as he admitted his affections to Mharani who was left quite speechless. Mharani had secretly been attracted to Vaziq for many years, but could never bring himself to admit this to his friend. The two developed a strong relationship that they kept mostly secret for fear of losing fans whom they knew admired the members of Esoterica for more than their musical talents. When Garance abruptly left the group to further hone her musical talents in the Kingdom of Doma, they decided to disband and go their own ways. Mharani and Vaziq remained a fairly successful duo, while Fero enjoyed a solo career reaching dazzling heights rarely seen in recent times. The three continued to support each other, and often met for drinks and revelry after their various performances ...

[Rjol]

Supporting Characters ~ Volume 1

 

Name: Garance Trisaux

Job: Bard, Music Instructor 

Affiliation: Bards’ Guild of Rabanstre, Saint Endalim's Scholasticate

Place of Origin: Ishgard

Current Residence: Ishgard

Status: Alive 

Realtionship Status: Single, multiple lovers

Relationship to Rjol: Acquaintance

 

Biography, Part I

Garance Trisaux was born to a wealthy Ishgardian family, connected by blood to House Durendaire. The youngest of eight siblings, Garance was often left on her own, in the care of various governesses who came and went, much to the lonely child’s dismay. Because she was so often left alone with no friends, and siblings who were all a bit too old, or busy with their own lives, to indulge her inquisitive nature, she spent much time playing in the family’s music room. She learned a few melodies on the grand piano and enjoyed the sounds she could make when plucking the golden harp, but she never learned any of the instruments properly. Her favorite older brother, Anton, the only one who ever paid her any mind, once went on a spiritual six moon retreat to an outlying temple near the Kingdom of Doma, and when he returned he brought with him boxes and bags full of gifts for his siblings. For Garance, he brought a beautiful Far Eastern stringed instrument known as a koto. The child was awestruck by its beauty of shape and sound, and begged her parents to allow her a musical tutor so that she might finally properly learn an instrument. Her parents readily agreed, thinking it appropriate that their daughter develop a talent to keep her occupied, and sent vassals to the Far East to find a suitable tutor. After some four moons had passed a Hingan man arrived at the doorstep of House Trisaux, the stewards who were sent to find him pushing and pulling many cases of foreign instruments on carts into the grand house. The music room had been converted into a studio and, after one night of rest, the Hingan man insisted that Garance begin her studies. More than seven summers had passed when the Hingan tutor informed Garance that he would be returning to his homeland. She had learned with great aptitude all of the instruments native to the Far East that the Hingan man had brought and imported over the years to Ishgard, and he felt that there was nothing more he could teach the girl. He did, however, suggest that she travel to the far away continent of Othard and attempt to join the renowned Bards’ Guild of Rabanstre to learn what she could there. She had heard stories of this city, The Desert Sapphire, it was often called. The more thought she put towards traveling to this distant land the more appealing it became. Being the most traveled of the family, Anton agreed to accompany his sister to Rabanstre. The two set off for Limsa Lominsa, where they would board a ship to the Othardian port city of Valnain and travel up by coach to Rabanstre. The journey took quite some time, but all proved worth it when Garance was accepted with aplomb to the Guild. Though only seventeen summers old, she had spent so much of her childhood alone that she did not at all feel lonely in these new surroundings, though she quickly made friends with three other recent members to the Guild: Vaziq Fremont, Mharani Rozvin, and Fero El’Zia. They often collaborated together and their talents eventually flourished into a musical quartet they called Esoterica. Though they were wildly popular for some summers in Rabanstre, Garance eventually felt over-eager to deepen her knowledge in the Far East, that mysterious land full of magical instruments she so long ago mastered. The day came when she simply wrote a letter to each of her three friends informing them of her decision, and sent them to be posted. Never being good at goodbyes, she hired a private coach in the middle of the night and made for the east ...

Edited April 25, 2019 by Rjol

[Rjol]

Entry no. 1 

“Our time in Rabanstre seemed brief... too brief... before the Imperials arrived and I fled, yet again. This time without my beloved friend, my friend who accompanied me all the way from the Wood. We rebuilt our lives here, we built upon our dreams... but to stay would have been the end for me, and I have come too far...”

- Rjol

 

Entry no. 2

“Galbana Lilies... They grow only in the deserts of Dalmasca. Beautiful, how they insist on flowering in a such a harsh environment. I always loved these lilies, perhaps because they reminded me of the Wood and the myriad plants that grow there. And because they are strong, refusing to wilt under the oppressive heat of the Dalmascan sun. When I told this to Fero he had a fresh bouquet of them delivered to my home on Muthru Way, and the deliveries came weekly after that. Fero. Perhaps I should relate on page the memories I have of the famed bard of Dalmasca, lest they grow dim over time in my mind. Perhaps.”

- Rjol

 

Entry no. 3

“I can no longer remember how many days and nights we traveled in the green and red caravan. Nor do I recall the precise details of our escape from Rabanstre. What I remember of that night are two of Fero’s associates from the Bard’s Guild, Mharani and Vaziq, who found me in the blacksmith’s shop where I was in hiding with Grja. Being rather renowned bards it should have come as no surprise to see them so well disguised as common spice merchants. Without any of their usual jovial airs, they briefly but solemnly informed me of Fero’s death at the hands of an Imperial soldier. It was midday when a detachment of soldiers shattered the front door to Fero’s mansion. Fero, stubborn as always, refused to relinquish his estate to the soldier, going so far as to draw a dagger upon the intruder, who then cut him down without hesitation in the sunroom. Shocked and frightened by what I had heard, it still surprises me that my mind immediately wondered if the dagger Fero pulled on the Imperial was the jeweled dagger I had gifted him on his nameday two years past.”

- Rjol 

 

Entry no. 4

“It didn’t take much to convince me to leave. If I had learned one thing since quitting the Wood, it was to trust my instinct. A few days prior to our escape, Mharani and Vaziq paid a traveling merchant based in Rabanstre for his caravan and two of his prized chocobos. We barely believed our plan would work - dressed in cloaks and hoods we appeared to be exactly what we were: three desperate residents of Rabanstre attempting to flee the city. Perhaps the guards did not believe a word of our story at all, perhaps they did, or perhaps they simply didn’t care, but they allowed us to pass through the eastern gates after a quick inspection of the caravan, which the bards, masquerading as merchants, had stocked full of exotic spices. There was a minute altercation when one of the Imperial guards quipped that I should stay behind with him, but his superior put him in his place. My only regret at the time was leaving Grja behind. She insisted that she would leave the city with her employer, and secret lover, the blacksmith called Dane. I do not know if they ever made it away from the city, or where they could have gone, and though I have made many inquiries, I have not heard anything of them on any of my travels since.”

- Rjol 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 25, 2019 by Rjol

[Rjol]

Entry no. 5

“We traveled long and far in the small caravan, stopping in villages and towns along the way to rest overnight and so that the two bards could perform at taverns and small faires as a way of making gil to survive. To earn my own keep I began dancing to the bards’ music, which was much appreciated by the locals who had not often, or in most cases, ever, seen any of my kind. I will admit that I was not above picking the pockets of the more insufferable drunkards I came across while dancing. The subtleties of this dubious art were taught to me in a single night by a seductive, seasoned dancer I met at a small inn on the outskirts of the port city of Valnain. This way of life continued for some time, as the bards and I were well aware that we would need a considerable amount of gil to support ourselves in the future. I refined my dancing technique by watching the various other dancers I encountered on our travels, and even learned a bit of archery and the basics of the lute from Mharani and Vaziq. When we finally reached the region of Yanxia we felt we had come a safe enough distance to rest a while. We made our way to a small farming village called Namai, unsure of where we should go from there, but it seemed a good place to figure that out.”

- Rjol

 

Entry no. 6

“It was a little over one moon that we spent in Namai. Madame Fuyumi, a well-respected village elder, gave me shelter in her home, where she allowed me to read her various manuscripts on Othardian herbalism - a field of study that had long interested me, likely due to my upbringing in the Wood. In Rabanastre I often purchased herbal oils to burn in my home and sachets for soothing the spirits, but I never had the opportunity to study the medicinal and magical properties of the herbs themselves. In Namai, at her own insistance, the herbalist instructed me herself on how to make concoctions to cure wounds, calm the mind and body, and even how to arouse desire, a recipe she felt all women should know. Mharani and Vaziq had insisted on sleeping in the caravan, where they spent long nights diligently composing music and lyrics to relate the tale of all that had recently happened. Though I knew they, like all of us with any connection to Rabanstre, faced deep sorrow over recent events, I could sometimes hear the sounds of laughter, joyful music, and drinks being poured from the caravan at night. It also became obvious to me that Mharani and Vaziq were more than simply musical associates. This was enough to warm my heart and give me hope for the future.”

- Rjol

 

Entry no. 7

The time had come for us to continue our travels onward. The two bards had little reason to stay in a farming village and, though I knew not where the road would lead me, I knew Namai was not fated to become my home. It did not take long to decide that the nearby kingdom of Doma would be our next, and perhaps final, stop. Vaziq and Mharani had an old friend living in the city, a foreign musical teacher to the children of an aristocratic family. He supposed we might be able to stay with her, provided she was still in residence, while we decided what we would do next. Before departing, Madame Fuyumi gifted us dried fish and fruit for our short journey and the days to come after, and quietly handed me a botanical tome she had written herself. I felt deep regret that I had nothing to give her in return, but she only asked that I come back again someday for tea and conversation. We packed the caravan and departed for Doma late in the afternoon. The journey took less than half a day, most of it spent on a ferry up the One River, as there was no other way for the caravan to reach the city. Once we were ashore again we immediately stabled the chocobos and paid a fee to house the caravan, then we set out to find accommodation and inquire as to the whereabouts of this mysterious friend to the bards, Garance Trisaux.”

- Rjol

 

Entry no. 8

“Doma was an elegant city. Illuminated by lanterns and scented of exotic incense, it was as if we had entered a shadowy dream world. We spent our first night at a rather expensive inn. Mharani and Vaziq were initially unsuccessful in convincing the proprietor to allow us a performance, but once the man caught on that I, too, would be performing he quickly changed his mind. It is well known that Viera rarely leave the Wood, but I have always found it a bit ridiculous that our presence in the outside world could cause such a stir. We first got ourselves prepared in our rooms while the staff of the inn set up a space for our performance. We chose to do only three songs, as we were unsure how the guests of the inn would receive foreign music and dance. Halfway through the second song, as I was dancing among the audience, I noticed an Elezen woman near the back of the room, her eyes quickly darting between the two bards, with the slightest of smiles forming upon her vermilion lips. Instinctively, I knew this must be their much talked of friend, Garance. The performance concluded to a very warm reception, so we bowed deeply in the Far Eastern manner and made our way to a table prepared especially for us. The Elezen woman appeared behind Vaziq, tears in her eyes. Garance was graceful and tall, well-dressed in the style of the more affluent citizens in this part of the world - her silken kimono, marigold and violet, shimmering in the lantern light. Vaziq noticed Mharani and myself staring up at Garance, and turned in his seat to face her. After many words of surprise and delight, she explained that her tears were tears of sympathy for what had happened back in Rabanstre, mixed with tears of joy for seeing that her dear friends were indeed alive and well. They invited her to sit with us, and over many a glass of plum wine discussed the trials and tribulations of events recently and distantly past.”

- Rjol