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#ONLY VERTHUNDER
kicktwine · 3 months
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Alphinaud drops first. 
It’s a case of divided focus, something he prides himself on being able to do, being why he volunteered for it, but… it is too much. 
He tries to cast teleport. Multiple times, he tries, he has Ch’ari and Alisaie’s tethers, if he manages to cast it he can get the three of them out of here (out of plain sight, the middle of a disgusting field of churned earth and smoke and bodies in all directions, warmachina and the smell of burnt aether almost choking in their intensity, they weren’t even meant to be here it’s just there’s nowhere to go anymore and the teleport is straight to Doma where he knows the fighting hasn’t catastrophized yet and maybe Hien or Yugiri is still alive) — and yet when he pulls together enough mana for the spell between casts of ruin and shields and directing his carbuncle to and fro, it’s not like it doesn’t work. It’s more like it reaches out and never reaches past… here, the aethernet slowed to a halt, the cast stuck in an eternal loading screen. It tries, like a dying man tries to breathe. Alphinaud grips the pages of his grimoire with the realization that they aren’t escaping the ruins of Vylbrand. There is not enough aether to pull together the connection from here to Doma. 
A magitek reaper crushes his carbuncle under one foot, the poor creature disappearing with a yelp, and Alphinaud feels his heart skip a beat and his footing falter for a second as the magic between them is snapped, and without a shield the opportunity is taken before it can be snatched away and a lance buries itself between his ribs and throws him to the dirt. 
It knocks everything out of him. His grimoire skids just out of reach of his fingers. His vision hits the floor after his body does and keeps going, smearing colors like wet ink, and he doesn’t feel pain as quickly as he feels the odd sliding sensation of things moving that should not be. The lancer — dragoon, how ironic and unfairly cruel to die to — yanks the lance back out (a strained cry is forced out of him as it does) and hastily starts forwards, weapon raised as if they were feeling lucky after the success, and is thrust violently to the side as Alisaie buries her rapier through their stomach with a snarl. She kicks the corpse off her sword and makes as if to rush to her brother, eyes wild and pulled wide like a cat’s, but her focus is yanked away from her as another unlucky figure takes a powerful verthunder and vaporizes with a scream. 
The shield is gone — that was Alphinaud‘a job. Carbuncle. Alisaie skids to her knees at his side, panting harshly with her hair tangled in her face and begins casting vercure, only to grip her focus tightly and fling a spell backwards that explodes in a wall of fire. 
“Can you heal yourself?” She barks. Oh, she’s yelling like she’s upset. That’s not a helpful thought, because it’s quite obvious, but it strikes Alphinaud that he doesn’t want that to be happening. The sticky tear through his chest is starting to feel like ice when he breathes. 
“Carbuncle,” he wheezes, instead. 
Alisaie grabs his hand with hers and slaps it down on the grimoire, the requisite magic from their combined casts rushing into the spell as if from an unclogged drain pipe, reluctantly and then all at once. Moonstone — bless his moonstone carbuncle, he crafted it to be intelligent and it far exceeded his expectations, it pops into existence and immediately creates a shield big enough to shelter the three of them and zips off to attack any stragglers. Alisaie, checking her surroundings again, fumbles with Alphinaud’s soaked through cloak and returns to healing magic. 
Tries to return. There’s so much spent mana in the air it’s almost like shining a flashlight into a summer day, the way vercure stutters and hums weakly. Alisaie growls and pushes more mana into the spell, and it pulses as it slowly pulls aetheric particulates into itself to work.
“You okay?!” shouts a hoarse voice from some fulms away, right on the edge of the shield. 
Right — Ch’ari, not looking at them, locked in battle. Past the giddiness that pervades his attitude in a fight, strained into desperate focus. The only reason they’re not already dead, and she has no trouble admitting it. Ch’ari stands in a perpetual crackling, crystalline magic circle, Hydealyn trying to preserve Her champion, firing off spell after spell that explode between combatants in fierce, blinding reams of energy. Between casts, he flips his staff around and launches through warmachina, the azure dragoon in full sorcerer’s gear, more effective in close combat. In the little circle that surrounds them and the shield, Ch’ari fends off the army trying to kill them, growing more and more exhausted the more he doesn’t have help. 
“We need more time!” Alisaie yells. 
“Anything but that, Ali, I can give you anything else!”
“Then we need to leave, Ari, I can’t cast! We can’t stay!”
“How’s the—“ he turns, to look at them finally, his ears flat as his eyes widen in shock. “Hells,” Ch’ari hisses, and turns and slams his stave into the ground, the magic circle glowing and then brightening substantially as the ground surrounding the carbuncle’s shield cracks and explodes upwards with light, rending and throwing metal and flesh and forcing Alisaie to squint. 
When she can see again, Ch’ari has backed up to be close and enclose them between him and the mutilated rock Alphinaud fell against, trying again to cast teleport. The circle is gone — and this time, the cast barely even starts. Buying them time, using the ley lines to channel magic into the earth, used up any significant amount of aether left in the atmosphere, and she can almost taste the absence of life on the dry air. It tastes like the Burn. Like blood — though it’s tasted like blood for hours. 
Ch’ari brings his hands to his face, in concentration if not prayer, weak magic spiraling about his feet, when his ears flick up and he drops the spell and manages to cast manaward as—
KKRAKKOOM!
Just to pin the final nail on the coffin. A mangled, half-finished and tendon-bare imitation of Ultima drops from the sky and buries itself four feet into the ground, and it screams, cracking the carbuncle’s shield and causing the creature to let out a defiant shriek. 
Ultima reels, confident as a puppet yanked into position by dogs, and a sharp note rings out through the air as it aims and fires a beam of pure ceruleum energy into the shields. 
Ch’ari skids backwards and stays standing, both hands braced against his staff, stumbling backwards and nearly over the twins. Manaward isn’t strong, the blessing of Light the only thing keeping it up, but the drain on the star itself leaves it shimmering and wavering, almost obscuring what approaches from the wrecked wasteland behind. 
It’s almost like tendrils of nothingness. Shadowy hisses and steam-trails of pure black, bereft of magic entirely. They creep from nowhere and slip into the cracks, pushing at the edges like a meal awaits inside the eggshell. Almost alive, but so spread and so lifeless as to be an inevitability. 
Ultima shatters the carbuncle’s shield, and Alphinaud cries out, flinching as the tether breaks again. Ch’ari grunts with the effort of just keeping the shield up, no sign of the attack actually stopping — and Alisaie, unable to leave the shield area or she dies or her brother dies or anything, doesn’t cast a spell and just tries to channel aether into the Warrior of Light. 
The black fog seeps through the cracks made by the weapon, tugging them wider, longer. Drier. More and more blank, nothing. 
Ch’ari drops his staff drops the cast and turns and skids to his knees, grabbing both twins and pulling them close to him as manaward shatters. Ultima howls in triumph, bracing itself to fire again, but it hardly needs to, not to ensure the end of this story. The smoke rushes in, and blurs the world into unrecognizable nothing. 
Everything slows, and… stops. 
and. 
reverses. 
Alisaie feels it first. Underneath the stinging sensation of unhealed wounds the gentle tug as time begins to pull backwards, the way the particles in the air almost like stars begin to blur and streak. Ultima never fires again, immobile like a glittering metal statue, and from where her head is pressed into Ch’ari’s shoulder, she looks up and sees faint, astral spell lines.
She almost laughs. She does, in confused disbelief. Ch’ari’s grip loosens ever so slightly, ears swiveling to pick up the quiet shimmer of something far beyond him reaching out and pulling. 
You… only you…
Alisaie can’t help it, her hoarse laugh turns into giggles, and Ch’ari picks his head up entirely, still holding his twins but hearing that voice and hearing something else within it. Alphinaud’s fingers curl into Ch’ari’s coat, even through the haze of near-fever. The air cools, softens, and glows with blue smears and swirls of time. The edge of Ch’ari’s lips twitch, unsure but surrounded by familiar senses as the swirls speed up, faster and faster until the world blurs out of view entirely, replaced by streaks and starlight. 
Let expanse contract, eon become instant!
History must be changed!
And Thancred collapses to the floor, unconscious. 
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lookbluesoup · 1 year
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Beginners Guide to Red Mage
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I've had a frankly alarming number of people comment to me on various platforms that Red Mage is too difficult and confusing. Which - I know different classes vibe with different people. Sometimes a class just doesn't click with you, and that's ok! But I actually find RDM to be one of the easiest classes in ffxiv to get the basics down on, so I thought I'd type up a little crash course!
This is a guide to a basic rotation, without any eye-glazing acronyms, and a few tips on how RDM evolves at higher levels, hopefully in easy to understand terms for someone just starting out. It is not a min/max guide. It's not designed to get you Super Rainbow Diamond Parse. It will show you how to play red mage competently in Duty Roulette and MSQ and get through whatever regular content you want. (As long as you don't forget to keep your gear levelled with you!)
If you want to go MAX ULTRA DAMAGE UNREAL TRIALS mode there's plenty of other guides out there for that, a google search away, who can help you with more complicated, number-crunchy type rotations! My hope is that if you are new to RDM and want to get into that content someday, this will at least give you a foundational understanding to build up to that from.
And if you're a casual player, this guide will see you through just fine. You're who this is made for!
Full guide below the cut!
Red Mage is about balance, which means it's basically a repeating pattern.
There is a magic rotation to build up black and white mana in equal amounts, and then a melee rotation to spend that collected mana on high-damage sword attacks. Later, you'll get a second magic combo to use after your sword combo.
Here's my hotbar setup synced down to level 50:
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And here it is at level 90 with some upgraded skill icons:
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Because I'm very visual, it's set up to keep related abilities close together so that I can quickly input combos.
If you take a look at your spells, you'll notice Veraero and Verthunder (the green and blue buttons) do high damage but take almost 5 seconds to cast. A really long time. They also only increase either white or black mana, though by a significant amount:
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Jolt, the red one in the middle, only takes a remarkably short 2 seconds to cast and gives both black and white mana, but does much less damage and doesn't increase either color very much:
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This might initially seem clunky and frustrating.
But here's why.
Every second spell a Red Mage casts is instant.
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Jolt is your ticket to flinging spells around like a dog with a roman candle.
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The goal is to start with a short-cast spell, and then follow up with a long-cast one, which will hit immediately instead of taking those agonizing 5 seconds.
So, if you are fighting a single target, that's Jolt, followed by Veraero or Verthunder. (Or, if like me your eyes want to glaze over with the fancy names for everything. Red, followed by Green or Blue.)
And how do you keep your black and white mana balanced? Easy. Each time you do your combo, switch up veraero and verthunder.
You basic magic combo is literally just Red, Green, Red, Blue, Red, Green, Red, Blue. If you set up your hotbar with these in convenient places, you can just get your fingers into a rhythm and eventually won't even have to think about it at all.
If you end up off balance with too much of one color, just repeat the other color a few times in between Jolts until its back close together.
The AoE Rotation, Though?
Since you know why the cast times vary so much between spells, you can probably already guess how this works! They're inverted! That's all! If you're fighting 3+ enemies at once, you should switch to your AoE set which damages all enemies around your target. Your basic magic combo is still just Red, Green, Red, Blue, Red, Green, Red, Blue. But you start with Green or Blue first!
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When its time to stab things
While you can use your melee skills at any point, in any order - there's a pattern here, too. And its easy!
This is your mana bar when you enter a fight:
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And this is your mana bar as you build up black and white mana through casting spells:
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The white side, predictably, is white mana. The blue side is black mana. The gem on the top will light up in red when you have enough of both collected to perform a melee combo (which is 50 white and 50 black). It maxes out at 100 of each.
While your sword skills on your hotbar will color change from purple to red earlier than this, do not succumb to the allure. Wait until you get your magic red button. Every "Enchanted" sword strike you hit with will deplete your mana, so you need to make sure you have enough to do a full combo of all three attacks.
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An Enchanted combo does MUCH more damage and it is absolutely worth waiting until you can combo them. Start with Riposte, the one that costs 20, and the others will light up in order afterwards to show you the correct steps.
Once you're too low on mana to run a full sword combo, go back to casting spells until your red gem lights up again!
AoE Rotation
It's not even a rotation, it's one attack - Moulinet. However, it should be noted that at later levels, when Mana Stacks are added, you'll need 60 black and white mana to get a full three mana stacks by using your AoE sword skill, instead of the 50 needed for single target sword skills.
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Imbalanced Meters
If you cast too much of one color without the other, your gem will change to reflect the imbalance. You get a penalty to gaining mana if the bars are off balance, so make sure to give the other color some attention until your gem turns red or clear again.
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Free Damage Buttons
Fleche, and its AoE version Contre Six, are free damage. They don't share any cooldowns with your regular spells/sword skills, and cast instantly. It's free damage.
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Corps-a-corps is a gap closer, another attack that shares no cooldowns with any other skills. It's a great way to start out your sword-combo when you have enough mana collected, because it will put you in range of your target and deal damage in the process. A lot better than losing seconds to running up to them manually, during which time you can't attack.
It has two charges which refill over time, so in a short period you can use it twice if you need to. Like if you target the wrong enemy the first time. Whoops.
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Engagement is another free stab button, but it shares charges with Displacement, which is your run away button, so make sure to save a charge if you're going to need that!
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Displacement is a good way to end your sword combo (or, later, end your bonus spells combo.) It is also a good way to escape an enemy's attack if you stood in one place just a LITTLE too long and don't have time to run out of range. You will leap backwards immediately and quite far.
Once in the Crystal Tower raids I used this to evade an AoE and landed in one of those paralyzing electric traps on the corner of the arena, where I remained trapped, in shame, for the rest of the fight. Check behind you before you jump.
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(Slightly) More Advanced Rotation
If everything above feels like a lot to absorb already, you can ignore this section for now. Get a handle on the basic basics, and then start weaving the rest of these in later once you're more used to your patterns.
Occasionally when casting a spell you will get "Verstone Ready" or "Verfire Ready" These can be woven in at your discretion, they have short cast times. But generally they should replace your short cast spell for one cycle. For example, use one of these instead of Jolt, and follow up with a Green or Blue spell after. They both give you a specific color of mana, but not quite as much as a regular long-cast spell, their benefit lies in how fast you can cast them and their high damage.
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Acceleration can be used to quickly rebalance your mana if something goes awry, or to deal heavy damage quickly. It's another tool that allows you to cast any of your main long-cast damage spells instantly. As an added treat, it makes your next Red AoE do significantly more damage, or ensures that your next single-target Green and Blue spells will give you a Verstone/Verfire right after.
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Manafication will instantly grant you 50 black and white mana both. It's best to use it between Enchanted sword combos! Once you hit 50 on your own, perform a sword rotation, hit Manafication, and do another sword rotation. Or, when Mana Stacks come in, use Manafication after completing your bonus spells to get another Sword-Spell rotation combo in right after.
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Embolden is a damage buff for you and close-by party members. There's a lot of ways to use damage buffs, but if you time it right, you can get two buffed Enchanted sword combos in by pairing this with Manafication. Later, with Mana Stacks, you can get a sword and bonus-spell combo in, with a little extra room.
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Mana Stacks
At higher levels, you'll get Mana Stacks. These basically add a third pattern after you use your spells to build mana, and your sword to spend it.
By completing an Enchanted Sword combo (the red ones, that cost 50 mana to complete) or casting 3 of the Enchanted AoE Moulinet in succession (which costs 60 mana), all your Blue and Green spells will transform into Verflare and Verholy:
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You get to cast ONE of them. If you perform just about any other action, including manafication, you will lose these. Make sure to cast them when they appear. They do not, however, run on a short timer, so if the dungeon boss is at 0.1% hp you can hold your actions and just use these on your next ad pack.
If your black and white mana are not perfectly balanced when you get these spells, that's a good thing. Pick the spell that matches your lower color. If you have less black mana, cast Verflare. If you have less white mana, cast Verholy. This will guarantee that Verfire or Verstone, mentioned above, become available to you:
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If you pick the "wrong" one, don't worry! You still have a chance at getting your stone/fire spell. And if not, you can use Acceleration to quickly cast for whichever color you need to rebalance your mana.
A little down the line, you'll get a third bonus spell. Scorch replaces your Red spells and appears after casting Verflare or Verholy. That's a lotta damage!
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And again, further down, you'll get another red spell to follow on the heels of Scorch, Resolution. To really help you finish off nuking everything in front of you.
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So in short - magic combo till you have 50 of both mana colors, sword combo, bonus spell combo, rinse and repeat.
And there you go! You can Red Mage!
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But wait! There's more!
Saving the Party from a Wipe
At level 64 you get Verraise. And since you know all about dualcast now, you know that 10 second cast timer doesn't mean anything to you, a Red Mage.
While you should generally let your healer(s) handle raising so that they don't waste their swiftcast trying to get someone that you might reach first, if you notice multiple people go down close together, or the healer is low on spells/having to work really hard to keep the party alive, or the healer is dead... you can resurrect someone every 2 seconds. Do not be afraid to help save the party from a wipe. It feels very powerful.
Your healing spell, Vercure, also has a 2 second cast time, so you can give party members a little hp boost in between shoveling them off the floor.
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sayonaramidnight · 11 months
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How does Helvi feel about Red Magic overall? Were some parts easier or harder for her to learn?
Before taking the Red she only knew how to fight with two-handed swords (greatswords or katanas), so it took her some effort to use a rapier with one hand and not forget about the focus crystal in the other hand. By this day there's still some DRK touch to her fighting style... and DNC as well.
She also had a bit of false start regarding the melee combo and its aftermath - during her fight against Lambard she destroyed one of the voidfire orbs by putting her (armed) hands in it and casting Verholy. A small, one-enemy version of it, but still. You don't cast Verholy on that level, right? And she had no idea how she did it - just pure instinct and the talent for magic that came to her with the Rejoining. And when the time came, it took her a lot of effort to actually learn how to cast it again. Really, Verflare was super easy, but Verholy was not. Perhaps deep inside she still remembered that fight and dreaded.
The easiest to learn, for some reason, was all Verthunders. And her favourite spell is Impact, because it makes a lovely flower <3
Overall, Red Magic gave her the balance she desperately needed. She wanted to be in motion, play a more active role in fight than just standing there with an open book. She also wanted to be able to fight with another weapon in case her magic fails or she's without the grimoire (like at the Bloody Banquet, when Teledji's people took it from her); and while the Dark Knight training she went through just before taking the Red was frighteningly effective, it was also emotionally exhausting and emotional exhaustion was the last thing she needed back them (ie. after Heavensward).
So. She can cast spells. She can swish. She can do backflips. But the most important, I think, are the ideals behind the discipline and the new family she found thanks to it. Also, being a goldsmith through and through, she's absolutely delighted with the Red Mage weapons and threatened promised to arm everyone X'rhun would train after her.
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wispofwillow · 2 years
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Wisp Alsentia
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Name: Wisp Alsentia Birth/given name: Islen Alsentia (Wisp began as a childhood nickname that stuck; only their family now may use their true name) Age:  mid-30s (vague) Birthday/Nameday: 14th day of the 5th Umbral Moon Race: Miqo’te of both Keeper of the Moon (maternal) and Seeker of the Sun (paternal) heritage Gender: Non-binary (they/she) Canon classes: White Magic, Botanist, Carpenter, Dancer (early in learning; primarily used to assist the flow of aether for healing spells), Red Mage (early in learning; primarily has begun to be able to use verthunder) Temperament: Overall gentle and welcoming, if a bit withdrawn; they are more likely to like someone until given a reason not to, than to approach with initial mistrust. They desire to help when they can, though often doubt their skills and usefulness, particularly of late. On a rare occasion, one also has cause to remember that Wisp was raised in part by a huntress of exceptional skill who taught her children to grow a spark of heat and an iron sharpness that she believed necessary for them to survive. Sexual/romantic orientation: gray asexual; pan-romantic
History:
Family & Childhood: 
Each determined to flee their past circumstances and make a life of their own, Wisp’s father, a Seeker of the Sun ostracized from his tribe, and mother, a Keeper of the Moon leaving a life of hunting and banditry in the Black Shroud behind, found their way to a refuge at the edge of Imperial territory, where other refugees, too, had fled war, conquest, and past hardship. As they began to build a family, so too did they help to build this place of refuge, settled at the heart of the wood at the base of a chain of forested mountains, into a safe haven. Amongst their number was a magical scholar by the name of Alsentia, whose name the family adopted. Well-versed in matters arcane, she tutored Wisp’s father in his pursuit of arcanism. Born deaf, Wisp’s father worked with Mistress Alsentia not only in learning extant spells and in tutoring his children in early learning and basic understandings of magic and the arcane, but also in developing new spells, including those that could be interwoven with his disability and with the sign language he and the others of this refuge learned to use to communicate. He also assisted in shrouding their home from outside seekers - particularly Garleans.
While Wisp took well to their father’s teachings and exhibited an early interest in scholarly learning and in magic, their mother taught Wisp and their four siblings to survive and thrive in the forest. From her, they learned the basics of hunting and woodcraft. Although Wisp did not show the interest and talent for hunting and scouting that their older brother and sister did, they learned botany and woodworking/carpentry over time, taught by their mother and others among the refugees who had sought haven in the wood. 
Later in their childhood, they began to exhibit an affinity for healing, particularly one that followed the patterns of aether use in conjury, rather than arcanism. However, the Garleans pressed ever closer to the edge of the wood, making traveling more dangerous, and dangers within the wood were increasing, as well, with voidsent appearing with increasing frequency. With this danger, and Wisp’s mother’s past negative experiences of Gridania and its guardians, leaving to pursue formal learning of conjury in Gridania was dismissed.
Throughout their childhood and into adulthood, they continued to aid in the nurturing and protection of their home, building their skills with magic as best they knew how and could be taught. In the meantime, the numbers within their refuge swelled as more people fled their homes in advance of, or following conquest by, Imperial armies. After Wisp and their siblings killed an imperial scout who discovered their youngest sister too close to their hidden home, and later losing their oldest sister to another such scout, Wisp’s oldest brother began to become restless. He grew frustrated with simply hiding their own home, without more obviously using their resources to support wider efforts at resistance, like Ala Mhigan resistance fighters. His frustration built with time, and in the end he argued with his family, joined a group of fighters prepared to take on the Empire, and died in the battle of Cartenau. 
As the war with the Empire continued across multiple fronts, voidsent incursions increased, and everywhere the land and its aether themselves began to feel more out of balance, Wisp began to feel that their skills for healing may best be used once fully trained in conjury, and that these skills would be needed beyond their home. The evening before they left (unlike their brother, with their family’s reluctant, grief-ridden blessing), Mistress Alsentia passed on to them a White Mage soulstone, kept without use among their many arcane belongings until that time.
Training and Inclinations:
In Gridania, Wisp honed their training as a conjurer and eventual White Mage through the conjurer’s guild. Their magic and use of aether carried the traces of their home forest, even at this time, with spells often leaving the faint scent of pine behind, and they often use motion as much as staves/conjury tools to assist in the flow of the manipulation of aether. As their skills grew, they began to assist in locating sources of aetheric disturbance in the Shroud, which brought them into contact with the Ixali and the Sylphs. Over time they began to establish some trust among members of these groups with their frequent presence, and although they declined always to join the Wood Warders or the Twin Adders, they began to at times act as an informal liaison or mediator between Gridanian groups and the tribes. It is during one such appearance in this role that they were present for the summoning of Garuda, and came to learn of their echo and the protection from tempering it offers, as they moved to assist those fallen to the fighting, and fell under Garuda’s gaze themselves.
After this, gradually Wisp took on a more active role in healing out in the field, as well as continuing to work among the Ixali and the Sylphs, as Gridania and the Allied forces began to take a more active stance against the Empire. They join the teams of medics as these forces clash in Ala Mhigo. At this time they also first learned of, and came to join, the Riskbreakers, an organization dedicated to liberation from the Empire.
Time on the First/Shadowbringers:
As the Allied Forces take on the Empire in Ala Mhigo and beyond, Wisp found themselves increasingly plagued by headaches that they attributed to stress and particularly urgent sense of danger from the land. Until they are pulled suddenly across worlds, and land, accidentally, on the First.
They are not the Warrior of Darkness the world has been waiting for - but after an injury from a sin eater fails to transform them (although it leaves a silvery scar across their upper arm) while they are acting as best they can as a healer in this land, they recognize that they could have a role in defending against sin eaters. Over time they found themselves in a similar liaison role to that they had held on the Source; this time between the Crystarium and the Fae of Il Mheg, and become known among the Fae for their efforts and their willingness to be a good sport in games. However, over time, rumors of the slight aid they offer - and their perceived invulnerability to the poison of the sin eaters - spread, and agents of Eulmore sought to ensure that they cannot be a threat. Wisp’s echo is weak, and when they were made the target of an onslaught of powerful sin eaters, their light wass finally tainted to the point that their body could hold out against transformation no longer. They kept control of their mind long enough to send a last pulsing spell signal of warning - one developed by their father. Instead of signaling to flee, this spell brought unexpected aid in the form of a friend. And the Fae, who do not like one they have claimed as their own being taken from them. And so, they acted.
Wisp was saved the fate of becoming a sin eater, but with the state their physical form had been in, there was only so much even a King of the Fae could do without further transformation. And any deal with the Fae, friend or no, has consequences.
When Wisp thoroughly woke on the Source again, thanks in part to the efforts of their friend and fellow healer (in-game retainer), Arc, and his connection to the Crystal Tower, they were tied more deeply than ever to their home forest, whose seeds were brought to the pixies by Arc in time to root their soul to their body. Their magic had shifted, as well, taking on more of the shape of the forest from which they now seem to be drawing their aether: roots climb rather than stone, lightning comes more easily than once it did, and moss on a wound aids its healing much more than it should. They also feel more of the land and the flow of aether through themselves, if they concentrate. But other changes have come, too - the scars left by the light weeping from their eyes as they fought the light poisoning gradually shifting to patterns of root and bark, hidden by their old familiar carved mask for now, and they can no longer be separated from earth and light for long without pain. They are changes that suggest the Fae’s transformation may not be done its work.
After all, the Fae can afford to be patient. 
And a branch may still seek its sapling.
The Present:
When Wisp awakens on the Source, in a bed of moss cradled in the heart of their home forest, rather than in the makeshift camp they had left from, their family - their entire home - is gone.
Although they spend some time searching for traces of what may have happened, for such a thorough vanishing, they find none, and eventually return to the Riskbreakers' headquarters in the Goblet. But they feel adrift, still grasping for the sense of their magic now, and the landscape of conflict has changed in the time they have been gone and in recovery. More than ever they have questions of an arcane nature that ordinarily they would have sought their father or Mistress Alsentia to answer. Without their family as a resource, Wisp goes seeking answers, and a way to put their skills to use, elsewhere.
Information, inspiration, and screenshots at: wispofwillow.tumblr.com/tagged/FFXIVWisp
Playlists: General Shadowbringers
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abimee · 1 year
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red mage to 90 job review; for the first 30? levels i slowcasted everything. like i didnt know you had to cast jolt -> then any button so i was slowcasting verthunder and veraero and people were just letting me get away with it until i was in The Aery at like lvl 62 (didnt have sb level gear yet) and the healer told me to joltcast then hit thunder/aero
overall when i first started playing it (aka slowcasting) i said red mage felt like i was constantly hitting the gas and then immediately hitting the breask afterwards, and i can safely say that sensation only persisted more severely when i begun playing it CORRECTLY. everything feels like it goes from 1 to 100 and then 1 again and part of it is in fact how much i have to interrupt my casts because i went into a gas pedal groove of jolts and cast that i fucked up my instacast rythym and started slowcasting verthunder
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made this ^ joke about it in the early staged
OVERALL: 7/10 wouldve given it a 7.5/10 and rated it above machinist cause i do think its a little better than mch but i somehow managed to catch flack for my scholar playstyle AS a red mage so it gets points knocked off. overall got nothing to complain about and the storyline was rather enjoyable but i also have nothing much to praise. i do enjoy like 1 or 2 shirts for it though
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murokhan · 2 years
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FFXIVWrite Prompt #7 - Pawn
The sounds of her heels hitting stone stairs were the only things she could hear as she made her ascent up the tower. Ceres clutched her rapier tight as she wanted to be prepared for this confrontation. Still, something at the back of her mind ebbed a little sense of uncertainty in her. She knew she wasn't going to war against a powerful evil that threatened the land. It was her best friend.
Aldin closed his eyes when he heard the footsteps come closer. With the light clacking of heels against stone, the Xaela only knew one person who decided such footwear was necessary, even on the battlefield. And knowing that such gear did little to hinder the miqo'te's expertise.
"I knew you'd come," Aldin said, his back still turned from her, overlooking the alpine mountain scenery before him. "I had hoped this would never have happened, but I guess you chose this fate for us.
"I can only think of so many others that could stop me, to either put me in my place or have the resolve to kill me when they knew there was no other option. If I fail here, I fail in my mission."
"And there it is again, that damnable mission you keep going about." Aldin finally turned to face her, his hands to his sides. "You've not told a single person this mission. And now I've found out you're the one that disrupted all opportunities whenever we have tried to garner peace within the tribes."
"It's all for the greater good, I promise you."
"There is nothing great about it, Ceres!" Aldin cried out. "Why are you doing this?!"
"I'm sorry... I can't say..."
Aldin could only look at the face of his lost friend. He saw in her eyes that this wasn't a bout of madness or a sudden shift to an ulterior evil motive. On the contrary, she had a just cause for her actions, which pained him dearly. A singular tear rolled down his cheek as he pulled his katana from its sheathe and felt the heat of its aspected fire aether burn magically against the blade.
"It doesn't have to be this way," Aldin said softly, his fiery katana held firmly in his hand. "We can still work together to fix everything. We still have so much time, don't you see? It's not too late, Ceres."
The red mage shuttered softly at his words, but she did not once ease the grip on her rapier. Instead, she took it from its sheathe with her right hand and began focusing her aether into the crystal on her left. The crystal hummed to life as it hovered around her, in tune with her movements. The tip of her blade was pointed in his direction, unshaken, poised and focused on striking. Her nature of a fighter was ready, yet her face had a look of dolefulness on it. Her body was ready; her soul was second-guessing.
Aldin closed his eyes. "So be it."
The samurai dashed forward to meet the steel of the red mage, a trail of embers following his incredible speed. The reverberation of the sound alone pulsed throughout the open air as the two former friends locked eyes with one another, Aldin gauging Ceres one last time to no avail.
Ceres followed through with the next attack as she backflipped a few yalms away, bringing her focus crystal to cast two Verthunders. Aldin saw the telegraph of the cast, avoiding the first jolt effortlessly and narrowly missing the second – he had forgotten just how much power those crystals contained. Ceres followed up the spell casts by jumping forward, slashing away with her rapier with the Redoublement technique, utilizing the sword's swiftness for multiple thrusts.
Aldin parried each thrust and, without delay, gathered some aether within himself and unleashed a couple of strikes against Ceres. The smaller framed miqo'te felt the heat burning off the blade with each parry, her balance almost off while contending to the strikes of the au ra fighter. She stumbled backward to regain her footing, but it offered Aldin enough time to place his gathered aether into his blade and shoot a well-timed Enpi. It struck her hard and caused her to be pushed back another few yalms away.
Ceres cursed herself for having been opened to such a hit and cursed herself forward for letting it come to this. She knew he could defeat her easily if he wanted. He had the skill and the power to do so. However, she had a plan, and she hated every second that the idea came to be within her mind and how it played out. It was for the greater good, she reminded herself.
Another chance to cast, her focus charged and primed, she let out a Veraero. The torrential wind rocked Aldin, but he could withstand its biting blast. After the spell was cast, Ceres dashed toward him as if preparing to strike. Aldin was ready and held his guard up, formulating his own counter to finish this battle swiftly. However, as he was prepared for a slash, he was greeted with a magically created stone to the chest. Verstone. She had kept the stored power and cast her spell at a short distance. The blow caused him to stumble backward this time. His guard was gone, his chest was exposed, and Ceres used this moment to thrust her sword.
Internally she had hoped he would deflect that attack as well. But, instead, it met its mark on his heart. Aldin felt the sudden sting in his breast and saw the shocked expression on her face. But, of course, she didn't expect this outcome either, and he knew what would come next. He looked at her face a moment, then took one last breath.
"I hope this is worth it," he said before walking backward, the blade effortlessly sliding out and finally collapsing to the ground. The fire on his blade faded out beside him.
Ceres, too, dropped her sword, falling to her knees as she openly wept for the man she once called a comrade. Her sobs echoed from the tower. In place of rain, snow began to fall over the area due to the cooler climate, each snowflake caressing her heated face. She wished to die with him or to know a means to convince him of her chosen path. She knew it wouldn't ever be that way to have an ally to walk down this road with her. He would stop her by any means or die trying.
She felt a disruption of the wind coming from behind her. Ceres knew what it was. She didn't need to look. A portal of dark purple emerged, and from its center, a man wearing a black robe and black mask approached her, regarding her as one would a faithful pet. His head turned to her, then to Aldin.
"Then you are wholly committed?" he asked. "Very well, my dear. You will see that I am right and that where we go from here will be for the greater good of this star. We have much to prepare for now. You need only to follow my lead and the will of my masters."
Ceres nodded as she got to her feet. She was too numb now to understand her folly or to reconsider her place in this plan of his. Her path was before her now, and this robed man was the only one who could lead her through it.
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thebluebellcompany · 2 years
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FFXIV Write Day 2 - Bolt
In which a storm brings some realizations.
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Messritrail 
This particular constellation was not named from one of the many stories told by the orators of her tribe, but rather named after a particular historical individual: Messritrail, of the Grass Tongue. It was said that she could spin any story, tell any tale, with the greatest of descriptors; that no matter the subject matter she could find a way to both entertain and teach simultaneously. 
She was the first storyteller of the Qaerrin and she kept to her role with an almost hellish vigor. 
Her most famous story was one of a battle of wits: in which she and a spirit of the plains (disguised as a traveling merchant) held a contest of stories, in which whoever ran out first would be declared the loser. They battled for many days and nights, until the spirit had no more words to speak, in which then Messritrail recounted their entire exchange back at him with embellishments and dramatics that made even the spirit engrossed in the story, despite having lived through it not a few days prior. In turn, he promised her a prominent spot in the sky, and when she passed, that promise came to be. 
No wonder, then, that she was a particular favorite of many a tribe storyteller, her grandfather no exception. Rarely a day did not pass in which her grandfather would offer up prayers to the woman in the hopes of keeping his memory sharp and his words clear. She was a guide, an inspiration, and a guide to those seeking assistance in wordplay and clarity of understanding. 
The pit-pattering of the rain outside of The Coffer and Coffin did nothing to soothe Eris’s mood. Usually, the sound of rainfall was one of calmness and contemplation outside the busy day to day life back home. It would be a sign to head inside (or outside, her grandfather would chuckle as he stood drenched in the rain, much to her father’s chagrin) and to take things slow. 
A rather difficult thing to accomplish considering the circumstances. The tavern was far from what Eris would consider her usual stomping grounds, the sand and dirt from Thanalan being one thing, the dingy and unkempt state of said tavern another. However, the weather outside would simply not permit any travel until it had at least settled into something tolerable. So Eris sat, settling herself in a small corner table, glaring at the rapier as if drilling a hole into it with her eyes would somehow give her the answers she sought. 
It was an elegant thing, simple in its decoration but no less beautiful in its design. The blue gem that acted as the focus glowed dimly in the darkness of the tavern only helping to highlight the curves and lines that raced up around it. How could she not have been fascinated by it? Not to mention, the way that the miqo’te had delivered retribution upon the would-be assailants of a young girl had been both inspiring and alluring in equal measure. It provided a sense of strength and gentleness that no other weapon had shown her before. A good thing that the man had offered to teach her, instead of her bumbling her way through a desperate show for mentorship. 
In which, however, laid the essence of the problem. To be quite frank, Eris had not quite grasped the basics of red magic as well as she hoped. The rapier, she could handle. However, despite her fundamental understanding of the arcane from her time in Limsa’s arcane guild, the practical applications of such knowledge helped little in the face of a nearly completely different art. X’rhun had been patient, but even Eris could see her reckless spellcasting had worried him by the end of their beginning session at the church. So when they next met, he had asked her to do an exercise. 
“The… essence of a verthunder and a veraero?” 
“Yes! I was thinking on the matter just now, and I believe I have come to a conclusion. I see the way that you spin your spells, it is truly a beautiful thing to behold. It is not the spellcasting that is the problem, but rather how strong said spells are. Your veraero’s are mostly fine, I can see how controlling the Garuda-egi influenced you, but it is the verthunder that is throwing you off.” 
“What’s wrong with its potency? Should thunder not be strong?” 
“Well, yes, but also no. Therein lies the rub, as they say. What I want you to do is to think about thunder, truly think about it. What thunder means, and how you can apply it to your spells.”
“And how will I know that?”
A chuckle, and a sly smile. “You’ll know when you know.”
And so Eris sat, frustrated. Could there really be a thing as too strong thunder? The thought of it seemed contradictory simply in of itself. How could anything in nature be any stronger than what it was? Controlling something like wind made more sense, a powerful force that could be condensed and then released. But thunder? Lightning? Could something so ephemeral- 
A bright flash of light suddenly blinded the window next to her, followed by the cracking of the sky. Eris blinked. Ah, she thought, I’ve been thinking for so long it has started storming without me realizing. The sky lit up a few more times in quick succession, seemingly in line with her general countenance for the past half bell or so, streaks of light offering small reprieve of the dark storm clouds that covered the sky. 
Then suddenly, like a bolt from the blue, it hit her. I’ve been going about it the wrong way. If wind is a force to be condensed, then thunder is a single moment expanded outward. She chuckled, then slammed her forehead into the dark wood of the table in front of her. They’re opposites in black and white magic. Of course they’d have different approaches to their practical application. Why didn’t I think of that before?
Raising her head from its defeated state, Eris grabbed the weapon in front of her and stood up. Perhaps, to really understand this different state of mind, I’m going to have to do something different as well. Completely outside of my comfort zone. She glanced back out the window again, seeing the flickers of light continue to rage on. 
Hmm. Grandfather always did say the best way to experience something was to throw yourself into it. And while I don’t plan on getting struck by lightning… well. 
A little rain never hurt anyone, no? 
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hespnfrens · 8 months
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Everyone is Here! V.2 ///
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A new picture with every single one, not forgetting any like I did last time.
Names: (I'll go in pairs of race)
Au Ra -
Hesperdon Lasicus (M)
Hesperdia Lasicus (F)
Born in the Azim Steppe to a clan that was wiped from the map, Hesperdon, a Dragoon and Dark Knight main, and Hesperdia, a Black Mage, took up adventuring with their special power of the Echo, and to find answers on what caused their tribe to be destroyed that fateful Naadam.
Hesperdon was trained by his father, picking up the lance since a young age, while Hesperdia joined her mother at prayer often, though she had strange, unexplainable instances of isolated thunderstorms near her when she did.
Viera -
Cassandra Casinova (F)
Cassandross Casinova (M)
Born in Central Shroud to a quiet couple who kept mostly to themselves in the woods, both Cassandra and Cassandross had a rather uneventful childhood. Cassandross being a klutz however meant that Cassandra had to save her incompetent brother from many unfortunate situations, leading her to eventually study White Magic, while her brother ran off with Hamon to study the fist.
Lalafell -
Papia Papai (M)
Lelila Liya (F)
Papia and Lelila met one day when Lelila was taking a stroll through East Shroud, taking a break from her red magic studies with X'rhun Tia. Her quiet stroll was interrupted when she heard obscenities and shouting from within the brambles, to see a Marauder Papia trying to size up a Treant. He promptly gets smashed into the ground, with Lelia saving him. (Though it took a few mistaken casts of Verthunder and Fire rather than Vercure) Feeling indebted to her, he follows promises to protect her, throwing the axe away to practice the Samurai blade instead.
Lelila would still have to save him however, as his short temper meant he was constantly getting himself into trouble. Nevertheless, if you see one of them, that means the other is usually not far behind. (Or they could be further ahead, you never know)
Roegadyn -
Helga Zurntunder (F)
Horus Zurntunder (M)
The two siblings grew up in a fishing family in Limsa Lominsa, similarly to the Casinovas, they had a rather peaceful life, spending their days helping the family fish and take in the salty ocean breeze. Their interest in adventure was sparked when they witnessed Louisoux Leveilleur arrive at the docks, stopping a certain white-haired boy's attempts to rob him. So they decided they would explore the world, leading Helga to train as a Warrior, while Horus took to the books and became a Scholar.
Miqo'te (Sibling pairs first)
Y'mylah Zoh (F)
Y'tylah Zoh (F)
Caspian Sentala (M)
Camilla Sentala (F)
Luniara Raha (F)
Zoh Siblings -
The Zohs are twins, a Monk and a Machinist who work in almost perfect harmony of close and long range combat. Having almost exactly the same tastes in everything except the way they take out their foes, most of their conflicts come down to a basic game of rock paper scissors, even when debating about love interests!
While Y'mylah lost the game when the two were debating over Thancred, she would end up with Y'shtola instead. A happy ending if I do say so myself.
The Sentala siblings are.... a work in progress. Sorry!
Luniara Raha was the sole survivor in her family that originates from Bozja. Her parents were found crushed under a mound of rubble by Helio Velithgar, who would take the child under his wing. This came at the sacrifice of his role in the Resistance, which will be expounded on in the Helio section later.
Growing up in Kugane, she trained from a young age with Yugiri Mistwalker, becoming a master Ninja at only the age of 12. She respects Helio greatly, not only as her father, but as a fierce warrior as well.
Elezen -
Freya Etionellie (F)
Freyr Etionellie (M)
Born into a low-born status, the Brume was their home for many years, their parents passing away when they were only 5 and 3 respectively. In order to scrounge up any amount of coin to feed her brother, Freya worked in the Forgotten Knight as a musician and singer, her beautiful voice attracting many to the tavern to listen and enjoy a drink. This voice was powerful enough to attract even high-borns, causing an unbelievable mix of high and low-borns in the same tavern, singing along and enjoying drinks together. This also attracted the eyes of one Haurchefant Greystone, who would become friends with the young girl, promising to protect her no matter the cost.
Several years would pass, with Freyr joining the Ishgardian army, serving with Haurchefant, while Freya grew increasingly popular with her performances. This also made some high-borns increasingly jealous and spiteful, a low-born being able to rival that of a high-born? It was unthinkable. While she could not be harmed physically, both due to her widespread popularity and a member of the Fortemps family actively protecting her, she received a myriad of death threats, dead animals nailed to her front door, and horrible messages scrawled across the walls near her home. It was clear it was not a safe place for her, so she would eventually leave to Gridania, with a promise to see Haurchefant again one day.
Freyr, however, stayed in Ishgard, taking up astrology, and becoming a proficient healer. There was not much for him to do, however, so he tended to his and his sister's home, keeping it spotless and ready for whenever his sister would, inevitably, return.
Hyur -
Valentina Arcanli (F)
Rynes Laskima (M)
Rynes is a strange case in the lore, as he's actually my self-insert. I oftentimes break the 4th wall when writing short stories including him, but there is still a background to how the two Hyurs ended up meeting.
Valentina was/is an excellent engineer, working closely with Garlond Ironworks and the Skysteel Manufactory, crafting up wild machines and weapons that she often used on the field. Cid was a close companion to her, helping her with troubleshooting any problems she ran into.
The two Hyurs would run into each other when Valentina was working in Middle La Noscea. As she enjoyued the sea breeze and the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks below, she often spent time there. Rynes was walking past, mildly annoyed by the sound of hammers against iron, but was more than happy due to obtaining a new set of Ironworks gear. He also noticed that an Auroch was readying to ram Valentina off the side of the cliff. In a quick burst of speed, he would run over to Cover her just in time, at the repercussion of him falling off instead. Valentina would save him, and also show that his Ironworks gear was in fact, a fake. The Auroch would also stay around, both out of confusion from what had happened, but also because Valentina would treat it well, eventually outfitting it for battle with its own armor and saddle.
Hrothgar -
Helio Velithgar
A high-ranking officer of the Bozjan Resistance, Helio would run into an infant Luniara on one of his excursions into the field, cut off from the rest of his team. He was surrounded by the Empire, but would narrowly escape with his life, albeit unconscious and with Luniara safe as well. When he managed to reawaken, he was in Kugane, visited by Gosetsu Daito, who explained to him that he was safe, however the situation in Bozja was too unstable for him to return immediately. He would stay in Kugane, training and tending to Luniara, hoping to return to his friends and comrades.
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forlorn-flowers · 4 years
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the storm.
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You think back to how Saint described being on a battlefield, how one was supposed to feel. Welcome the chaos. Everything lines up, like a boat in the eye of a raging hurricane. 
You think about the forest. The roaring in your ears, unable to distinguish whether it was the storm overhead or your own screaming. You were desperate. Unhinged, wild. Feral.
You were the storm.
Breathe in. Out. 
You hold your hands out, palms up in your lap. Close your eyes, concentrate. Breathe in. Out.
Electricity sparks on your fingertips.
Mentions; @bygone-eras​
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witchfall · 3 years
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blood and thunder
ffxivwrite prompt: thunderous
set in ancient amaurot. An exploration of my Vivisha's Azem counterpart. implied that Azem, Hyth and Emet all kinda had a situation going on but none of them really understood it well enough.
inspired by @verthunder's fantastic amaurot take!
........
.....
...
..
.
Her voice cracks like thunder across the empty square.
"Hades!"
A slim finger accuses him. Her hood flings from her hair, rose gold like dawn over the fire sea.
This is already a haunted place, he thinks; she shatters the illusion of promise into a thousand iridescent pieces.
"Azem."
"Do not dare speak to me thus. As if I am your debate partner over policy."
Her lips are unpainted. Cracked and dry and brittle. They curl into a sneer, sharp even without their blood red armor.
He has no answer for her because...
"You already know what I'm going to say."
"Oh, do I."
It's already good as done.
Her venom--
"He will be summoned," he says, "or it will be the end of us all."
She stares at him. Eyes like firelit opals, dug out of the black sand beaches in the south -- the same ones from the stories she told him over wine dark as blood, laughing while her painted fingernails tapped the glass. They say the seas pound the dirt until it has no choice but to turn to something beautiful and hard.
So much like her. Every story, a part of her tapestry.
"Hythlodaeus wanted...he wanted me to..."
Her pretty words fall to pieces at the mention of him.
Of...him.
For all the years he'd called himself her dearest friend, he knows in this moment he knows nothing about her heart at all.
Had it always been the other she favored?
"He still believes you have good reason," she hisses. "Do you?"
"The safety of this star is my highest priority."
"The safety of Amaurot perhaps. You don't know them. You don't know..."
Her eyes shine.
He wishes she had not shattered her mask in the Convocation hall. Red boneglass in the shape of a half sun. Azem is the star they are to follow -- the one they cast away, so she could not sway them from their ancient course.
Perhaps that is what killed them, in the end.
He steps toward her, against his will. "Metis."
He hears the slap before he feels it - cacophonous like glass breaking on stone. Her nails dig into his skin. When had he gotten so close? When had she--
This is so barbaric.
"I am leaving. Do not be afraid," she says, bitter and dark, "for Hythlodaeus...my dearest Hythlodaeus... believes his place is here, to save you from yourself."
A tear down her ivory face hurts more than the claw marks on his skin.
"My place has never...never--"
"Metis--"
"My place has never been here."
Blood and thunder. In the ears of a god not yet born to hear it.
When he summons the savior, Zodiark, he must summon the concept of pain; he thinks of this moment, if only to rid himself of it.
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vahalia-cress-ffxiv · 3 years
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Invoking Chaos
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"Do you always just wander into people's places?"
Dawn had trailed her finger along the spines of Vahalia’s books, "Do you always keep forbidden books in the estate?"
"Just within my own residency. I'm a Scholar first and foremost and I thoroughly enjoy studying things; even the taboo."
Doctor Aethwyn turned and took a couple steps forward in Vahalia’s general direction, she looked around, "This place is nice, I wouldn't mind staying on the estate if this was my room."
The woman in black looked over Dawn and her expression remained flat but she took the chatter for what it was, "Thank you. At the moment it is what I consider home."
There was a polite smile afforded from Dawn, "Okay. Well, where did you want to do this? I don't want to play around too long and make Nijah worry."
Vahalia thought for a moment and she looked around the room, "This is fine. It is contained and quiet here."This caused Dawn to thin her lips together, "And warded I assume. There are people sensitive to aether in the company." she spoke in Vahalia’s direction.
The Mage narrowed her eyes, "It is though I am curious as to how -you- waltzed in so effortlessly. I have a lot of nicknacks and valuables in here -- like my books. I don't just let anyone stumble upon. You're a curious one Doctor."
She glared at Vahalia, "I don't have the skill to wander in here with all your tricks and traps. But someone else does. And they're more than willing to help me right now because it's fun for them."
A studious gaze found Dawn and her attention seemed very gathered. There were only a few so talented enough to pull off little parlor ticks such as that. She bit, taking a step to the side along the marbled floor, "Very well. Are you ready?"
Dawn sighed ever so softly, "No. But, I don't think I'll ever be ready. If I think about it too much I'll never get around to it. So, where do you need me?"
"It isn't a matter of where but how. I just need to draw the thing out of you. We know it is attracted to Aether. Last time we tried a bit of a test it was quick in wanting to feed off of a fraction of what I can do. You need to open a channel, I need to coax it and the moment this thing slips from you -- you need to close off said channel. It will have no other choice but to cling to the one thing left here." Vahalia smirked as she looked at Dawn and tilted her head back a little, it was almost hair-raising how she moved, "We're going to make it leave of its own volition rather than force it out against its will. We just need a stronger flame for the moth to want."
"Okay, then. Make it feel like there's a food source that it wants more than me; Got it. I just don't know what my part is or what I'm supposed to do, am I just... sitting around while this happens?"
The Mage hummed as she appraised the woman across from her by the bookshelf, her right hand lifting away as the foci at her hip glowed and the crackle of lightning licked at her fingertips in a slow, rhythmic glide, "Just.....don't fight it and for the love of Azeyma, don’t mess up my books" It was now or never; enough chatter and she hadn't the desire to keep playing the waiting game. For weeks she had been looking to close this game of obtaining this….thing.
The verthunder within Vahalia’s grasp grew and the Mage steadied herself along the marble floor to gauge a change from Dawn, a mere 20 or so fulm from her.
Of course, it was here Dawn looked distraught. "I-I... one last thing... I have to tell you..."
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Vahalia felt a hungry growl at the back of her throat and the flow of thunderous aether in her grip slowed, "Speak it." she responded with some annoyance.
Dawn huffed again, "M-my... friend. She says that if you kill me, she'll possess my corpse and strangle you to death. So please don't screw this up for the both of us."
An eerie scoff left the other, "I have no intention of killing you. I won't even put a finger to you." she almost looked insulted and the flicker of the lightning, verthunder grew at her grasp, the foci at her belt flared to life brighter than previously, "Just brace yourself." she called over to her and she accelerated the potency of the charge and the element chirped in the still air around them.
The Clinic Director seemed to take a more balanced stance as it was suggested, rear foot receding to brace against anything that might be coming at her. "Okay. Do what you have to."
Vahalia took a breath and her free hand shot out at her side, finger moving swiftly through the air in one quick motion, a searing slice bore at Dawn's midsection and as Halia had swore she hadn't so much as touched the woman but she said nothing about using Magicka to bare her open and to her surprise Dawn even aided in assisting her. Dawn kept her eyes tightly shut but they widened as soon as she felt the laceration just under her breastbone. Searing hot light sparked from her own finger as she cut open an ilm for the entity to escape.
The good Doctor talked way too much which often left room for doubt, too much for Vahalia’s liking. The Mage’s right hand shook as she surged more power out, aether bleeding into crackles and howling screeches of verthunder lighting up the area around them all red hues within the room had bled into a deep purple against the flickers of blue thunder surging from Vahalia’s hand. Violently the foci at her side glowed, far more strongly than it had prior and she had been pushing the limits, increasing the bar of the Magicka output. It didn’t have to last long, just a bit...a bit more….
She just needed to….coax out the ‘entity’ within…
"Come on you bastard..." the Ishgardian woman huffed through in a breath, the push of the verthunder within her grasp had been at its limit for some time now, almost steadily and the foci she kept to her person rattled at her hip. She held the charge out, waiting. Patience was a strong suit of hers but not one she could afford to have here.
Dawn grasped at her hair, trying to steel herself. It was like a yoyo had been extended out to its maximum extent: a sharp unraveling and a hard stop; Except this unraveling string was wrapped tightly around her core; her heart ached from the strain. She felt the parasitic entity lunge out of her but a hook remained wound at her muscle: the tail of the beast. It was like a ravenous monkey, refusing to let go of one branch until it had a grip of the next.
Vahalia smirked as she watched the struggle and she stepped back, extending that range from the mass that piqued outward from Dawn's form. There was a growl that stubbornly bubbled forth from the Mage and she outstretched her right arm back as far as she could and drew her stance further away. Her other hand slammed to the center of her chest where after a few moments the jacket became wet, the blouse and tie underneath stained red to open herself up, the outpouring of aether swept the room, growing and climbing the walls behind her, all while Dawn loosened her grip along her hair as she shot her own hands to her chest in an effort to stifle the wound and pain that had opened her up. Dawn slammed to her knees as the mass tore itself from her, opting instead to suck in rich, blood-soaked aether.
It was at this point that Vahalia grit her teeth and viciously the energy in her hand flared once more, a soft crack sound was heard along the lens of Vahalia's glasses that had been perched atop her nose. Pushing all that she had she drew back more, holding on as long as she could, needing -- craving -- for that sickening snap for the parasite to let go of Dawn. Playing some twisted tug of war with Dawn's core and very little regard to how much Dawn had been struggling on the other end. She commanded the energy in the room and drew her hand back past its reach, as far as she could, clawing for more length and she released a breath she felt she had been holding in, body straining, willing herself to pluck that thing right out of the woman across from her.
Dawn whined and writhed in pain as Vahalia did her best to remove the entity. She keeled over in pain; her left eye shined brightly as her limbal ring glowed a bright blue. "Okay, you little cunt, time for you to leave." A hand moved to grasp at the symbiant protruding from her chest. A quick yank was shown paired with a splatter of blood along the marble flooring. Once free, Dawn did as she had been instructed to do so by Vahalia. When that channel snapped she lifted a hand, wounds quickly mending as she strained.
Vahalia hadn't seen the blow coming and she looked up just as Dawn spoke, it was enough to garner her attention and she had then been hit and a force slammed into her front, it was enough to knock her back clear over the edge of the large table behind her and to bring her to her knees on the ground.
She coughed roughly and the screeching of the verthunder in the room hissed out until the vibrance of the light was no more. A shaking hand reached for the lacquered table near her, now stained in blood and Vahalia struggled to hoist herself along it for support, "Dawn?" she called out to the other woman.
Distorted was her gaze beyond the cracked and buckled rims and lens of her glasses that sat askew on her face.
The other struggled to catch her breath and tried to rise to her feet with her hand firmly planted to her chest to administer some healing to her person; her knees threatened to buckle again. Dawn wrestled with herself to rise to her full height, "D-did it work?"
For a long few moments as the hand that hadn't tried to steady her upright to the table, the other was glowing a faint green at her chest. Vahalia had to breathe -- choking within her airway had been some measure of blood. She could feel the copper in her mouth, having filled it profusely, "I... -- Yes...yes I can feel it." she waited a moment and her touch dimmed, flickering even as the white Magicka threatened to wane, "Now the real work will begin." she coughed out, "How do you feel now Dawn?"
"I-- I think I'm alright.."Dawn replied as she held a hand over her chest, magic emanating from her palm.
The Mage was still catching her breath and had no energy to move at current. Her body has suddenly become a prison to the writhing essence within her. Her form tapped from the energy she had exerted only moments ago. It was enough to cause her to smirk, "Welcome to your own personal hell." she whispered to herself and she looked down to her chest, the hand that glowed green still clutching there as she administered some level of healing upon her flesh beyond her jacket, "I... would be interested in hearing about your recovery in the coming days, Doctor."
Dawn moved over to Halia and her hands reached to grab at her and assist her in standing. Once more white magic sparked from her hands in an effort to help her heal. She also hummed as she often did. "Halia..." she uttered in a sing-songy tone, "Let me help."
Of course, Vahalia’s brows pinched her brows together and she looked a little reluctant. Always defensive and closed off, she finally lowered her hand. In truth, she hadn't the energy to refuse nor to even keep the wound closed though it had been at a slow rate. She simply stared at Dawn a moment then regarded her core, "What will you do now?"
Without so much as a warning, Dawn sprung forward and moved to hug Halia, bringing her close, "Thank you for helping me." she rasped by Vahalia's ear. This caused Vahalia to breathe out a little disgruntled and off-put at the expression of gratitude, especially since it was so easily laid upon the coattails of physical affection. V’ahalia simply tilted her head away but allowed the hug to happen.
"It's....a win/win. You get rid of it and I get to discover some oddities. No thanks are needed." she placed a hand between her and Dawn, "No....really. We're good." she tried to ilm the hug away from her.
Dawn then peppered Halia with kisses which caused Vahalia to scoff and she seemed entirely disgusted as she shoved her hand between her face and Dawn barrage of kisses until Dawn had only been touching leather, fingers and palm.
“Okay.” Dawn huffed as she was pushed away completely.
"Maybe now you can get back to your everyday life." Vahalia snorted and moved her other hand from the center of her chest. It seemed healed. Painful and tender but healed -- deep down she was thankful for it.
"I was just being NICE you know."
"Yes, yes, I know." Vahalia groaned with irritation.
Dawn paused by the door and gave Vahalia one more strange glance before taking her leave. The room had seemed so empty once more now that Vahalia had been the only one within.
She moved her hand from the front of her chest as she gazed down. Well, just her…
And this creature.
@dawn-aethwyn
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party-of-rpg-muses · 3 years
Text
Attack on Rhalgr’s Reach (FFXIV Story)
@chronochronicler @loona-cee
Flames bellowed forth from Rhalgr’s Reach, hidden base of the Ala Mhigan Resistence. Said flames lit up the night sky like a beacon, a portent of the horror within. The Warriors of Light charged forward, concerned about the possible bloodshed. Even if they didn’t know the state of the battle, a surprise attack no doubt lead to heavy bloodshed on the side of the Resistance. And yet, no sooner had they arrived did a few Resistance survivors appear, falling in exhaustion with Garlean soldiers close behind. Despite the survivors clearly being unable to fight, the Garleans continued their assault.
“Alright, everyone.” S’bera spoke, his voice taking a commanding tone towards his fellow Warriors of Light. “Protect the Resistance members!” The others nodded in agreement, eyes steeled as the drew their weapons, S’bera doing the same; S’bera with his spear in hand, Omutu with his sword and shield, Ishita holding her rapier, and U’tala drawing her globe. Frances, however, was engulfed in a blue light for a split-second, swapping her bow for a pair of claws.
“No, please! I beg of you!” The Ala Mhigan soldier looked at his assailant in horror as the Imperial Centurion raised his sword. “Know your place, savages!” He called before bringing it down. The Ala Mhigan closed his eyes, bracing himself for the blade and cold hands of death. But rather, he heard the sound of blade meeting shield. He looked up and saw a small Lalafell clad in Paladin’s armor. With a swing of his shield, Omutu deflected the blade, following up with a decisive strike, felling his opponent.
“Quickly, flee to Castrum Oriens!” Omutu spoke. “My friends and I shall stay and save as many as we can.” The Resistence member quickly scrambled to his feet and making his way towards the entrance, only making an exhausted “thank you” before leaving.
“Omutu!” Ishita called out, her hands full with another Garlean. “Help Tala.” The Lalafell turned his gaze towards U’tala, noticing an Imperial Signifer was preparing an magitek spell while the Miqo’te was busy healing. He gave a nod, charging towards the enemy mage before slamming his shield against the Garlean’s torso, distracting him for a brief moment. Before the mage could recover, claws slashed across the Signifer‘s body, blood coming from the wound as the soldier fell, dead.
“Impressive work, Lady Frances.” Omutu said to the Viera as she swiped her claws against the air, removing most of the blood from the blades. She looked down at her friend, giving a single nod, her expression as calm as ever. At the same time, the other two soldiers cried out, S’bera and Ishita landing the killing blows on their opponents and allowing the other Ala Mhigans to escape.
Frances sniffed the air, following with a visible grimace. “Tch... The smell of blood is strong. This wasn’t just a battle; but a massacre. And the people had already surrendered, too...” Her ears swiveled from side-to-side, as did the two Miqo’te. The area was drowned in the sounds of fires burning, steel and metal clashing, and the screams of the injured or dying. “I can also hear a woman’s voice. I assume this one is a commander of sorts.”
“So, what shall be out plan of action, Ishi?” S’bera’s gaze turned towards the small Au Ra, trying his best to ignore the sounds for the time being.
“We must find Lyse and Y’shtola and attempt to find Conrad and Meffrid. We’ll save as many people as we can while at the same time drawing Garlean forces towards us. That should allow any survivors to escape or raise morale of those who wish to stay and fight.”
“Alright, friends.” S’bera spoke up again. “We’ll travel north-west and save any allies we see. Remember; this is a rescue mission first and foremost. If a Garlean is retreating, do not chase them; our focus is to remain in Rhalgr’s Reach.” The others gave a nod, affirming not only their leader’s words, but Ishita’s as well.
The group ran forward and it didn’t take long for them to run into a pair of Magitek Predators opening fire on Resistance members who had already surrendered. “Frances, Ishi, take out the pilots!” The Viera swapped her job once again, swapping her claws out for her bow and arrow, taking careful aim at the Magitek pilot. She let loose a single arrow, letting it fly true and strike the pilot directly in their head, the soldier falling forward in his seat.
Ishita closed her eyes, calmly exhaling as her aether focused within her rapier. “Verthunder II!” She stopped for a moment, placing the focus upon her rapier as lightning shot out and towards the other Predator. A combination of electrical magic and an overload of magical energy caused the core to explode, completely destroying the mount and its pilot.
The group continued forward, intercepting more Garlean soldiers, but in the midst of battle, wolf-like beings arrived, fighting on the side of the Garleans. Once the battle had concluded, Ishita could help but take notice. “What could Lupin be doing here? And so far from Othard as well...” She nearly got lost within her own thoughts until she hear U’tala call her to her, snapping her back to attention before moving forward
Amongst the combat, a single woman effortlessly cut down the Ala Mhigan soldiers that charged her way, her blade dripping with their blood as the explosion caught her attention. “The hells?” She turned her head towards the sound, noticing the party of five running towards her. “It would seem the rescue party has arrived.” She swung her blade, getting rid of the access blood before turning to her new opponents. “Shame you’ll die like the rest.
“That voice...” Frances spoke up, already holding an arrow, ready to fire when combat starts. “It was her voice I heard before. She must be the commander.”
“You’ve got that right, my dear Spriggan. I am Fordola rem Lupis.” She pointed her blade towards the party as they came to a stop before her. “I am the commander of the Imperial Army within Ala Mhigo and of the Crani Lupis.” Getting a better loo, the party instantly remembered her, they remember seeing her men brutally beat Wercrata because he was late with the tribute.
Omutu stepped forward, his blade pointed up at Fordola as he glare met her eyes. “I am Omutu Rasumutu, son of Ala Mhigo! How could you come to serve the Empire; to serve those who wouldn’t even consider non-Garleans worthy enough to lick their boots, the ones who treat our people worse than garbage?”
Those words... They very clearly struck a nerve with Fordola, especially when he used the words “our people”. Rage flared in her eyes as she clenched her teeth hard enough that one would swear her gums would start bleeding. “How dare you lump me in with garbage like you! You want to know why I would ally with Garlemald? Die with that question on your lips!”
“Keep the other Garlean solders busy.” Omutu said, his tone becoming eerily calm. “I shall deal with this one myself.” Even though his tone was level, it didn’t take much to notice there was a rage bubbling inside him. He could understand not having he strength to fight back, but to actively betray kin and country was something he could not accept! He charged forward his blade meeting with Fordola’s.
“Not bad, little man. I did not expect one so small to have such strength.” Fordola grinned, almost as if she saw the Lalafell before her as a toy to play with. The two pushed pushed back, putting a little bit of space between them for their battle to properly start. They exchanged sword strikes, either countering with their own blade or blocking with their shield. Suddenly, Omutu could see an area around Fordola begin to glow. He knew what this meant, causing the Lalafell to step out of the range. As soon as he did so, Fordola thrust her sword downward as light seemed to erupt from the ground around her.
Once the light faded, Omutu continued his assault striking her with his shield. While she was stunned, he swung his blade in a circular area around him, quickly following up with a forward thrust towards the woman before she was able to recover. She gritted her teeth, increasing the ferocity of her attacks. He did his best to parry or block, but a few of her attacks made it through his defenses, slashing at his chest. Even though he wore armor, he could still feel the blade against his form. just then, he could see an area in front of Fordola glow. He responded by moving to the side just as she stabbed forward, countering with a strong slash towards her side.
“Gah!” Suddenly, Fordola swung her shield to the side, catching Omutu off-guard and hitting him in the face, returning the favor from before. Another circular area began to glow around her, one slightly smaller than the first one. But the stunned Lalafell was unable to get around of the way before Fordola swung her blade in a circular area around her.
Omutu fell back, taking the full force of the blow before recovering. He steeled his resolve, increasing his defenses against Fordola’s continued onslaught as he slammed his blade into the ground, light bursting from the ground and hitting Fordola. He immediately followed up by swinging his blade around him before bringing it upward against her.
“Y-You...! What in the seven hells are you?!” Fordola called out, hunched forward as she looked at her smaller opponent in disbelief. “Tch... Fall back, men!” Her allies turned their attention from the Warriors of Light towards their commander, immediately retreating as the Warriors of Light watched them run. Sticking to the plan, they won’t give chase.
Omutu gave an exhale, having his work cut out for him. Whenever injuries he took vanished as he heard U’tala calmly say “Benefic”, the stars healing his wounds. “Come along. We still have work to do.” Omutu said, looking up at his taller allies before the group ran forward.
It didn’t take long for them to notice a large man clad in bulky armor. And standing across from him, Lyse stood bloodied and winded. And behind her, Y’shtola, unmoving.
“Y’shtola!!” S’bera called out when he noticed the other Miqo’te on the ground. He jumped forward, covering the remaining ground in an instant and putting himself between Lyse and the mysterious man.
“You... You came...” That was all she could say as the other Warriors caught up with their leader, standing to defend their friend. “That man... He’s Zenos... Zenos yae Galvus...”
“You’ve done well, Lyse. We can handle this. Take Y’shtola to Krile. The path should be free of soldiers.” S’bera kept his gaze upon Zenos as he spoke. Lyse could only nod as she lifted the immobile female Seeker and ran towards the initial entrance.
“So, you must be the legendary Warriors of Light I’ve heard so much about.” The armor-clad man finally spoke. “I hope you can provide me with more entertainment than your friend.”
“So, what do you propose we do, Ishi?” The male Seeker asked, still keeping an eye on their opponent.
The Au Ra scanned Zenos from top to bottom, making as many notes as she can before speaking. “His armor is strong, but bulky. So he’s probably really slow. If we can strike hard and strike fast while he’s distract, we should have a change. But I can’t see any dents in his armor. Lyse fought him, right? She should have left some kind of mark.”
“We can worry about that latter.” Once again, Frances’ body was engulfed in a blue light as she switched jobs yet again; trading her bow and arrow for a samurai katana.
“For Ala Mhigo!” Omutu called as he charged forward. Zenos hardly reacted to the Lalafelln Paladin’s attack, casually striking at Omutu while holding his blade in a single hand. Omutu blocked Zenos’ weapon with his own blade, having to use both hands on his sword just to hold Zenos back. Never before has he seen a man with such impossible strength; and this man was holding him back with only a single hand.
At the same time, Frances circled around to Zenos’ side before running towards the Legatus. Once she was close, the Viera gripped her blade with both hands and performed a series of strong, but quick strikes before retreating. And yet, it didn’t seem to do anything. “Is that truly the best?” Zenos clearly knew about the attack, but it seems it was no more effective than a bug bite to him.
With a sudden burst of strength, Omutu pushed Zenos’ blade back, following up with a quick series of slashes with his blade, not that it seemed to do anything as well. Zenos responded by driving his blade into the ground as some sort of energy began to grow beneath the surface. Suddenly, a shockwave rolled through, pushing the Warriors back. “Pathetic.”
“Helios!” U’tala called out as the stars shined down on the party, healing them for some of the damage Zenos effortlessly inflicted upon them. “We’re not done yet!” Omutu picked himself back up before charging at Zenos again, keeping him busy with more sword strikes. U’tala drew the Spire card and used it to bless Ishita as she fires a barrage of black and white magics. Veraero, Veraero II, Verthunder, Verthunder II, Verfire, Verstone, Jolt, as many magic spells as she can.
She turned her gaze to S’bera, the two of them nodding in agreement as S’bera jumped high into the air. At the same time, Ishita rushes forward, both of them hitting Zenos at the same time. S’bera started his assault with his spear techniques, opening the way for Ishita to deal more damage as she attaced with her rapier. Just as she finished her rotations, the pair jumped back as Frances followed up. A star shined upon her, increasing her strength thanks to U’tala. She returned her blade to its sheath as she focused her concentration, hand hovering over the handle before striking at blinding speeds. “Midare Setsugekka!”
And yet, despite everything they through, his armor still showed no signs of cracking. “A bit better, but still lacking.” With very little effort, he pushed Omutu away, following up with a slash as he turned to face the others. “Now then. Show me more of what you can do!”
He brought his blade down upon Frances, only for the Viera to jump out of the way at the last second, putting distance between them as she slashed the air with enough force to cause a wind blade. “Divination!” The female Seeker called out, allowing the stars to bless the party and increase their damage further.
S’bera followed up her attack by jumping into the air once again. Only this time, he came down with more than ever, so much so that it was as if fire erupted from his landing.
The assault continued with a dual attack from Ishita and Omutu. “Verflare! Verholy!” Ishita called out before following up with a upward strike and summoned a group of aetherial rapiers that converged on Zenos. Omutu attacked with a quick series of attacks, ending with a jumping spin-slash and transitioning to a quick stab towards, Zenos.
“If this is truly you have to offer, then I am quite disappointed.” Zenos gripped his blade and with a quick spin, sent frontline attackers flying back, each of them landing near U’tala. Zenos first approached Omutu, the first one to engage the battle. “Farewell, O Warriors of Light.” Just as he intended to end the Lalafell’s life, a massive barrier erupted from U’tala, protecting not only him, but the group from the assault. Noticing this, he switched his focus to Astrologian Seeker and with a single strong strike, broke her barrier as if it was glass. Exhausted, U’tala could only look up at the monster of a man. This was it; her death was staring at her right in the face, the clock counting down to her final moments. She was absolutely terrified, but there was nothing else for her to do.
Zenos brought his blade to his side before bringing it forward with enough force to knock U’tala back. As she flew, blood sprays from the gash on her midsection. TIme seemed to stop as her friends looked on; a mist of blood coming out of her wound, mouth agape, and eyes wide in horror. The sounds of fire seemed so distant. Not even her body hitting the ground seemed to make a sound.
“NOOOOOOOOOO!!” Ishita called out as hard as she possibly could, so loud and so hard, it was as if her voice would tear itself to shreds. The love of her life lay before her, with a mortal wound. U’tala’s globe fell beside her, the cards strewn about like someone tossed a deck onto the ground without a care in the world. The others looked on in silent disbelief. This couldn’t really be the end, could it? She can’t really be dead, right? Not their friend!
“No...! No, no no, no!! NOOOO!!!” Tears fell from Ishita’s eyes as she slammed her fist against the ground over and over again. Heartbreak and sadness filled her very soul. But that sadness quickly gave rise to something else. Anger; pure, unrestrained rage. This bastard killed her girlfriend, so she’ll make sure he dies a painful death.
From this rage, came newfound strength; one that brought her back up to her feet, eyes burning with absolute hatred. “You’ll pay for what you did to her!!” In her hands, a staff made of pure light started to form. Her fingers curled around the staff and the moment she gripped it, aether swelled and raged around her like a tsunami, the air whipping around at all sides.
The clouds in the sky directy above them converged and swirled like a tornado, slowly reaching down to Hydaelyn’s surface. A sight that could easily be seen from Castrum Oriens, the Peering Stones, and Castellum Velodyna. “I hope the Kami can forgive you, because you’ll find no mercy here! Die a thousand deaths and atone until the end of time!” Ishita called out, raising her staff towards the sky, causing the clouds to part, revealing a large chunk of rock hurtling down towards the surface, targeted specifically at Zenos. The other Warriors of Light looked on in awe while Zenos merely smirked, not even trying to avoid the incoming meteor.
The ground trembled and shook as the distance between the ground and the meteor shrank, the large rock glowing a bright red, power swelling up as it made contact, a powerful shockwave exploding outward. Ishita’s friends covered their faces to protect themselves from the light and violent winds before looking up towards the wall of dust.
Her aether expended, the staff of light faded away as she panted with exhaustion. “Regret your actions... in the deepest depths of hell...”
The dust hadn’t even cleared when a voice came from the cloud. “I must admit, I was not expecting this. So the phrase was true; even a cornered rat can bite a mighty griffin. A shame that just like a rat, your attack meant very little.” Zenos calmly stepped out of the cloud, still not a single scratch on him as he wiped the dust from his armor. With each step, his heavy armor clanked together, like a clock counting down to their doom.
Almost instantly, the small feeling of victory was replaced with an overwhelming sense of and dread. Perhaps none more than Ishita as the behemoth of a man stood, towering over her before striking with his blade. 
“C-Cover!” Omutu mustered up just enough strength to hold his hand out, a bond forming between them just in time to protect the Au Ra from Zenos’ attack. “Guh!”
Zenos halted his attack for a moment, seeming to acknowledge Omutu’s desperate attempt to protect his friend; but that’s all it was... desperate. Over and over, he struck at the barrier protecting Ishita, each blow reflecting onto Omutu, feeling like a massive fist was pummeling every square inch of his little body at once. Each time, it proved harder and harder to maintain consciouness before slowly, the bond started to fade, his energy doing the same. Before collapsing, he was only able to say “Forgive me, Lady Ishita... And you... Lady U’tala...” With a groan, he fell over, just as unmoving as U’tala.
The Legatus glanced over at Omutu’s body for a brief moment before once again turning his attention to Ishita. His blade raised upward, resting above his head before bringing it down. She closed her eyes, embracing herself for the end, but just because it came down on her, the blade suddenly snapped up, causing its owner to instantly pause his assault.
He brought his sword up to his gaze, studying the clean cut of the blade before tossing it to the side as if it were garbage. “Pathetic”. The was all he said as he turned and calmly left, not even bothering to finish his defeated opponents off.
“It’s... over...” That was all S’bera could say. Though they survived and repelled the Garlean attack, it didn’t feel like a victory. That Zenos... his strength was in a completely different level; they couldn’t even put a chip in his defenses.
Once she recovered from the fear of looking directly at her impending death, she limped over to U’tala, falling to her knees as her hands rested on her girlfriend’s midsection. “Tala... Tala, wake up! It’s over!” Slowly, desperation turned to disbelief as her fears began to set in. “Please... wake up...” She shook U’tala’s form, desperately trying to wake her, carrying little as U’tala’s blood spread onto Ishita’s hands. She removed her hands from U’tala’s form to grab her rapier and focus “Vercure! VERCURE! VERRAISE!” She did her best to focus her aether, but she was too drained, only able to perform a single Vercure.
Frances dragged herself over to where Ishita and U’tala were, taking a moment to look at her Lalafellin friend, hearing him still breathing. Once he reached the Astrologian, she placed two fingers upon U’tala’s neck, feeling a faint pulse. “She’s alive, but barely. She needs medical attention as soon as possible. As will Omutu.”
Slowly, the adrenaline fueling the Warriors began to fade. Just in time to see reincorcements arrive. Though their vision started to fade, they could just barely make out Raubhan, Krile, Pippin, and the Leveilleur twins. One by one, they passed out with Ishita being the last to fall. Just before her strength failed her, she said “Please... save Tala... Save her and Omutu...” Her eyes finally began to close as unconsciousness finally claimed her.
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nhel-ffxiv · 3 years
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rules: tag 9 people you’d like to get to know/catch up with
Tagged by: @verthunder @fortempsward tysm! ♡
3 ships: I’ve been in Genshin Impact’s chilumi hell from the very moment childe was introduced asdfghjkl // Lunyx!! blame kingsglaive... // Rosegarden from rwby! they very cute and I like the whole rose/little prince symbolism 
Last song: Unsaid by Flor
Last Film: I honestly think it was The Mummy...it’s always passing on TV. and I watch it every time
Currently reading: Blood of Elves
Currently watching: RWBY volume 8
Currently carving: Persimmon
Tagging: @yshai-tia @earthlystar @azulann  @liltama-things @fheythfully @windup-dragoon @bard-of-light @ancientechos @whitherliliesbloom (only if you want to!)
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jeremy-ken-anderson · 3 years
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RDM Without Macros
Macros in FFXIV are kind of a sticky wicket. Early on you want them in order to avoid getting overwhelmed with all the skill buttons Squenix hurls at you, or to optimize certain behaviors -
As a Red Mage you can make a macro that tries to cast Verfire and casts Jolt if that fails. Since Verfire and its twin Verstone are only usable based on procs The term “proc” is both a verb and noun, referring to the event of a random roll in a game succeeding. For instance here when a Red Mage casts Verthunder there is a 50% chance they will get Verfire Ready, a buff that means “you’re allowed to cast Verfire once in the next 30 seconds.” and are better than Jolt for both mana generation AND damage, this macro is pretty useful! Instead of having to check whether you have Verfire available before you push the button at all and pushing Jolt if Verfire isn’t usable, you just hit the button and if Verfire isn’t usable it casts Jolt instead. In case you want it, it’s like this:
/micon Verfire /merror off /ac Verfire /ac Jolt
and
/micon Verstone /merror off /ac Verstone /ac Jolt
Note: You need quotes around the skill name IF it’s got a space in the middle. So if you wanted to make a macro jamming Contre Sixte and Fleche into one button it could be /micon Fleche /ac “Contre Sixte” /ac Fleche You’re allowed to put quotes around any skill name. So it’s perfectly reasonable if you want to quote skill names all the time so you don’t forget. /micon “Verstone” /merror off /ac “Verstone” /ac “Jolt” is totally valid. You can also have it read /action instead of /ac and /macroicon instead of /micon if you want a clearer understanding of what the computer’s reading. I just like typing less when I can.
- BUT.
Possibly for programming complication reasons and possibly for outright punitive or “preferred gameplay” reasons, Squenix has this hinky issue on macros where they don’t precast.
See, when a normal GCD skill button is on your bar and you push it early - 1/4 to 1/2 second early - the game accepts this and preloads that as your next thing to do when the global cooldown finishes...cooling down. If you put the exact same skill into a MACRO, however, that preloading is gone. The GCD has to be fully cooled or the button does nothing.
This makes regular skill buttons much more smooth to use, as the odds of being able to cast spells exactly on the GCD timer are near perfect with regular skill buttons and approach impossible with macros.
Sometimes the disparity is worth it. For instance I have a macro of Verraise - Red Mage’s resurrection skill - because generally the benefit the Red Mage offers in the resurrection department is raw speed. It goes,
/micon Verraise /merror off /ac Verraise /ac Verraise <2> /ac Verraise <3> /ac Verraise <4> /ac Verraise <5> /ac Verraise <6> /ac Verraise <7> /ac Verraise <8>
What this does is attempt to cast Verraise on your target, and if that’s not valid it just chucks it at every character in your party at once. The game will instantly recognize if the target is invalid and move on to the next option in the macro in a microsecond. Once it finds a valid (that is, dead) target it’ll cast the spell. This means you don’t have to take time targeting an ally. The time you’d spend on targeting is likely to outweigh the little GCD hiccup. The first line - the Verriase without a number - ALLOWS you to pick a target if you want, but you don’t need it.
On other classes Verraise would be replaced by their resurrection skill - say, Raise on the White Mage - and also you’d have an extra line after /merror off that goes /ac Swiftcast /wait 1 to let you use their skill to make resurrection fast. Red Mage gets to cast a spell instantly after casting any other spell, so they don’t need this.
But for most of your combat spells this little bit of tripping over invalid button inputs makes your overall maximum damage output with macros a little lower than without. Even if you-the-player are perfect with your timing/inputs this will trip over small latency issues in the online space. It’s uncertain how much damage this will cost you - maybe 5-10%? - and this puts macros into an awkward space where they’re viable as a convenience for the enormous majority of the game but also really bad in terms of not helping you build up muscle memory to perform the actual combos as intended, once you’re in top-level content for bragging rights.
Having gotten into true endgame content with RDM now, I’m attempting to truly learn the buttons. This required I reconfigure my controller to allow space for expanding buttons that had been compiled into compact macros, but I think it’s in a good place now.
I still have my skills arranged so left trigger is for granting white mana (which is on the left side of the gauge) and right trigger is for granting black mana (which is on the right side of the gauge), so I was able to maintain that mnemonic at least.
The trouble with it, to my mind, is that because I have to watch for procs it’s easy for me to tunnel-vision onto my skill bar and not see what’s going on in the battle itself - either to not die or to enjoy the cool animations that have been created for my gaming pleasure.
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realwizardshit · 3 years
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also im leveling monk and. im in hell because i only get paired with dootdy finder tanks who HAVE to spin the boss around constantly. i just spent half an hour in castrum abania trying to kill the last boss with three other complete shit heads: the tank, who when i asked him why he was moving around so much, said “too hyper”, the healer, who spent long stretches of time doing absolutely nothing and standing in aoes, and the red mage, who really liked hardcasting veraero/verthunder for no fucking reason. i left after the 3rd wipe because i think i would’ve said something that would get me reported
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draconicshinx · 4 years
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FFXIV Writing Challenge Prompt 3: Muster
Title: Living Dead (Warnings for blood/gore, Tamulen is my main WOL)
Nothing is going right.
What was expected to be a skirmish with a few sin eaters quickly became a bloodbath, one that necessitated the Scions splitting up to cover more area. Before Alisaie could make a choice, Tamulen's short, battle-focused shout caught her attention.
 "Alisaie, with me!" Though only a little taller than Alisaie herself, Tamulen still has a commanding presence. She looks like the antithesis of the sin eaters with her black scaly horns, black armor, and the black great sword she wields like it weighs nothing. She looks every inch the Warrior of Darkness. Alisaie follows her without question.
It stands to reason that the Warrior of Darkness would go to where the fighting is the thickest, but there comes a point when even the best fighters start to get overwhelmed. It doesn’t help that Alisaie keeps messing up. It starts when she leaps in close to her quarry, one of the dog-like sin eaters, and it gets a swipe in on her leg before she can leap back and blast it to smithereens. She doesn't have time to bandage it, so she ignores it. This turns out to be a mistake.
When jumping back from killing another sin eater with her rapier, she lands on the injured leg, and it crumples beneath her weight. Before she can right herself, she hears the blood-chilling sound of wingbeats.
A sin eater descends on her, one of the armored humanoid variety, with white wings and a long sword. They have the ability to turn people, a fact Alisaie knows all too well. From the ground, she casts verfire, hoping to knock it back and give her time to stand.
It dodges the magic elegantly. Alisaie quickly shoots verthunder to follow it up, but it dodges that too and descends on her, sword forward to strike.
She doesn't have time for another spell. She tries to roll out of the way, but she's not sure she'll make it.
A black form blocks out the blinding white of the sin eater. She hears Tamulen's voice, exhaled in a low grunt, and then blood splatters on her.
Though it's only a split second, Alisaie feels like it's an eternity before her brain finally catches up with the scene in front of her. Tamulen is standing over her, between her and the sin eater, and the sin eater's sword is plunged through her middle, through her armor, and back out the other side.
"NO!" The guttural scream rips itself out of Alisaie's mouth, her mind frozen in shock. This can't be happening, Tamulen can't really be standing in front of her with a sword through her. She can't be dying. Tamulen can’t die. Out of everyone, Tamulen absolutely can't die.
And it's because of her. Because she's too weak.
Tamulen roars, breaking through the beginning of Alisaie's emotional breakdown. It's like both a sentient scream and a feral animal, and with it ignites a black and purple fire around her. Tamulen lifts her sword and, with one swing, cuts off the sin eater's arm that's holding the sword in her stomach. A second swing cuts the monster in half.
With it dead, Tamulen collapses to her knees, wheezing. She's still surrounded by the dark flames, but they're quickly getting weaker. Alisaie crawls to her side, ignoring both her injured leg and the tears streaming down her face.
"Tamulen, please--" she gasps, but Tamulen cuts her off.
"I'm not dead yet," she says, though her voice sounds ragged. "It's dark knight magic, I can live a little longer with a fatal wound, and it--it can be healed. If we hurry."
It can be healed. A glimmer of hope appears in front of Alisaie, and she grasps it with both hands, pushing back everything else. "Just tell me what to do."
"I'm gonna pull the sword out," Tamulen says. "I need you to heal it immediately. Best spell you've got."
"Absolutely," Alisaie replies with all the confidence she can muster.
Tamulen rests her hand on the hilt of the sword. "On three, then. One, two, thre--ungh--"
Tamulen groans in pain as she rips the sword out of herself. In that instant, Alisaie casts verraise. Though she's hardly ever used it, it's the most powerful white magic spell she has. She can only hope it's enough.
The armor over the wound is jagged and torn, but as Alisaie watches, the gray skin beneath it knits itself back together. The dark magic joins her white magic, but it helps fuel the spell, not hinder it. Finally, the magic all dissipates, and Tamulen heaves a sigh of relief.
"Good as new," she says, "though my armor is going to need some repairs."
All the emotions Alisaie held in suddenly break out in a flood. Without thinking, she latches onto Tamulen, ignoring the points and spikes on her armor.
"Gods, I thought for sure--I thought I was going to watch you DIE--" The words come out in a heavy stream she can't hold back, ending with a gasping sob. Tamulen wraps her own arms around her, gently rubbing her back as she cries.
"I'm sorry you had to see that," she says gently. "It's not magic I have to use often, thankfully, but it's… rough. On everyone involved. At least the sin eaters seem to be gone for now.”
Alisaie pulls herself away from Tamulen to look around, but she's right. The sin eaters are gone, presumably fled after their leader was killed.
Tamulen stands, then offers her a hand up as well. When she does, she notices the injury on Alisaie's leg.
"We need to bandage that before we regroup," she says, "since I can't do healing magic and you're probably spent."
Alisaie just nods. She is spent--emotionally, physically, and magically. She has a feeling that she's going to have a new set of nightmares revolving around this.
But, Tamulen is alive. That's what really matters.
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