Lightbringer

FFXIV RP Blog for N'hara Tia on Excalibur/Balmung! Half-miqo'te, half-highlander, Monk, Astromancer, Adventurer.

[nhara-tia]

FFXIV Write - Prompt #4: Cloud

N'hara nearly hacked up a lung, waving a hand in front of his face as the smoke that had launched itself into his face was slowly settling and dissipating.

There had been a rather unusual advertisement he'd found last time he was in Kugane. "Heaven-on-High" it had been called, that strange tower in the Ruby Sea that was very hard to miss, that was being advertised as some kind of skill trial. "See how many floors you can ascend!" the advertisement announced. The thought of climbing the tower was a test of one's strength was fascinating enough to earn a visit from him one fine day.

The premise was simple enough: the floors had enchanted walls that shifted and changed every time they were visited, so no two adventurers faced the same trial. There were special chests containing supplies like food, water, medicine, and magical baubles meant to help ascend to the next floor. The directions were simple enough and N'hara opted to make his way in under his own strength; what better way to see his progress and readiness towards his next chakra?

N'hara had been warned about the traps, including some chests that were also trapped, but as N'hara noticed, there were subtle differences between the trapped chests and untrapped chests. Specifically, the trapped chests had an aura of intense explosive fire aether around them.

Thus, it came as quite a surprise when a chest that had gotten the all-clear from his investigation suddenly exploded in his face. The cloud of... hopefully harmless smoke had been shot into his face and lingered there for a moment before he finally had enough bearings to do anything.

The half-highlander sat where he'd been kneeling for a good few moments, contemplating himself and grasping with the non-trap he'd just literally set off in his face before getting up.

His present, exasperated state of mind didn't notice the subtle mist that followed after him with each step...

[nhara-tia]

FFXIV Write - Prompt #3: Temper

N'hara's body was covered in sweat. His body was almost literally radiating heat as he'd lost count of his sit-ups somewhere after 200. The only thing that had taken him back into the moment was his attempt to reach for his waterskin for a drink mid-rep and realizing that it was empty.

It had been an unacceptably long time since he'd last done a very long, very intense workout session and he'd committed the whole day to a routine. He'd certainly not let himself go, he was still very fit and in prime shape. The problem was that he'd not been pushing himself.

Above all things, he was a Fist of Rhalgr. Ever and always should he have been striving to push past the next hurdle, to grow ever stronger, to temper his body into an instrument of divine will.

The last few months, nearing the last year or so, adventuring work had slowed considerably. There weren't nearly as many escort or monster culling jobs coming in, and with the war with Garlemald coming to a close, all the original front lines of conflict were quieting down as well. It had seemed like as good a time as any to rest a bit, to focus on his personal life and his hobbies, but he'd confronted himself in the mirror and forced himself back to work.

He couldn't become complacent with his life. He had made a commitment to Rhalgr when he adopted this way of life to always strive towards His perfection and he had lapsed in that commitment. The workout he was pushing himself through, feeling the burn of muscles not pushed to this limit in a long time, was his recommitment to his beliefs.

As well, he still had chakras to unlock, and chakras wouldn't open to someone content with fishing for the rest of their days.

[nhara-tia]

FFXIV Write - Prompt #2: Bolt

The idea came to him in the middle of the day, during a time when he really should have been focused on something else, but his mind kept wandering.

He wasn't a professional bartender... not technically, anyway, but he'd picked up a few books on how to mix drinks so that he could better serve customers at his side job (which, he was slowly admitting, was becoming his main job). There were so many things one could do with alcohol, some juices, and maybe an egg or two, but for someone with a degree in aetherology, it was a surprise to him that nobody tried to do anything with different elementally aligned aether in mixed drinks.

He'd heard of the common practice of using an ice crystal to chill a drink, but that worked about as well as regular ice, but what about ice aether itself to keep a drink cool? He'd heard of sparkling water that was just water infused with wind aether. Fire aether could easily be used to warm things up. Earth aether was... tricky, he didn't want to think too hard on that one, but lightning aether... now there was an idea...

He spent the better part of a weekend working on it, trying to find a good liquor base and the flavors to pair with it. He found something called Galliano in a store somewhere and decided to throw that in with some orange juice and vodka. The resulting drink was smooth but had a kick to it from the citrus in it. That's when the second bolt of inspiration hit him.

Or, rather... the bolt hit the glass.

A tiny flick was all it took, just the smallest pulse of lightning aether into the glass and one could see the waves of it bounce around inside the drink before settling.

The citrusy spark was made even stronger and, in a very dumb moment of possible blasphemy, called it the Rhalgr's Wallbreaker.

Now all he needed was someone to try it...

[nhara-tia]

FFXIV Write - Prompt #1: Cross

SEVERAL MONTHS AGO...

To say that N'hara's mother was cross with him was an understatement. It was, in fact, far more accurate to use the term "utterly pissed" or, perhaps, "unbelievably enraged wrapping right back around to serenity".

Against his better judgement, on one particular day during a trip back to his tribe in La Noscea, he made the decision to talk with her about all the things he'd been up to since leaving home. He'd never really confided in anyone about his experiences, all the things he'd seen and done since joining the "Astral Agents" so long ago. A few years certainly felt like a lifetime, especially with so much going on. He was sure he left out a few things, if just because it was hard to keep track of everything after a while.

It certainly wasn't a moment with a therapist, but finally having someone else outside of his normal friend circle to talk about all his experienced certainly took a weight off his shoulders.

That weight was promptly replaced with searing pain and and even heavier weight on his back as his mother proceeded to beat him senseless for the next several minutes. Even in her 50s, she was still somehow even stronger than he was as a trained Fist of Rhalgr. If anyone had been listening in, which wasn't hard given the racket, they would have heard the muffled admonishments of all the horrendously stupid, reckless, suicidal things that N'hara actually, consciously agreed to do. He couldn't object to any of her reprimands, not when hindsight was pretty clear about how many poor decisions he'd made; even if he had plenty of doctors to see to his physical injuries, he'd never once actually gone to talk to someone about all the mental and emotional trauma he'd endured.

The beatings came to a halt after a while, N'tala dragging N'hara over to a bed and applying some ointments to him to ease the bruising.

If the minor injuries couldn't do much to hurt him, the tone his mother took before she started crying certainly did. The day slowly drew to a close and N'hara found himself laying in bed, looking up at the ceiling of his childhood home.

He really couldn't keep worrying his mother like how he had been. More than that, it made him think about everyone else he'd made worried with his actions. All of them, his friends and family, deserved better from him.

With adventuring work winding down... maybe it was time to slow down his life... he owed the people he loved at least that much...

[nhara-tia]

Blood on the Sands

It was finally time to put an end to the Prisms.

The group, consisting of Autgar, Zaius, Tiergan, Louma'li, Reks, Sejad, Geofri, Orion, Huginn, as well as Slashing Tombstone and Lerone, had finally arrived at the Burn to feed the aether contained within the crystals back into the land. Slash was left back at a makeshift camp under guard while the rest of the group accompanied Larone into the desert to oversee the release of aether. Nobody quite knew what to do or what to expect.

Except trouble. Everyone expected trouble in some form or another, and that's exactly what they got. When Lerone attempted to release the aether into the land, it was captured. The entire time the group had been traveling, Slash had been "praying" and the fruits of that labor were paying off as the aether was pulled from the land and straight to him. The group took as much time as they could to prepare as they saw the aether-glowing Slash begin to enclose upon their position.

Autgar, Zaius, Orion, and Reks took Lerone and the prisms and began to run to put some distance between the two. Huggin, Geofri, Sejad, Louma'li, and Tiergan stood with N'hara as the front-line against Slash.

The man had split himself into multiple clones, each a copy but also the original, with a core one situated within a dome of red crystal as he continued to pray. Both groups had to contend with a swarm of the copies, copies that started to turn and twist Lerone into a creature not unlike them the closer they got.

It was a scramble to try and destroy as many of the clones as possible. Huginn had his hands full with one particularly crafty clone while Geofri was providing ranged support from the top of a giant automata. N'hara, Sejad, Louma'li, and Tiergan cooperated in the destruction of the other clones and and the one in the barrier. Reks and Orion pooled their magic with Autgar creating another wall between Slash and Lerone, succeeding in destroying the others. Zaius, meanwhile, was offsetting the changes to Lerone by drawing the aether out of them and into himself.

There was a moment in the fight were all time seemed to stop.

Another copy of Slash had appeared, this one bearing the name of Spectrum. It appeared before Louma'li, touching the Moonkeeper in the chest and causing the man to quite literally explode, blood and flesh and viscera littering the sands in an instant. It appeared again before Autgar and drove a fist clear through the man's chest and the monk was dropped to the ground dead.

Something within N'hara snapped, sensing both of his friends deaths as the collective unconscious between them faded out of existence.

The half-highlander bolted towards Slash, unable to perceive anything but the pounding of blood in his ears and growl laced with murderous intent rumbling in his chest. He was vaguely aware of Zaius engaging the man at the same time, fire mixed with an inky blackness covering his body as he laid into the man with strike after strike.

All the Agents combined pooled the last of their resources into making sure Slash was put to death. Between being literally ripped to pieces and obliterated with the most powerful of magics the mages had to bear, the man was not long for this world and was truly and utterly destroyed once they were done with him.

N'hara didn't notice that a disturbingly familiar golden force had granted Reks the might to bring Autgar back to life and a suspiciously familiar green one rewound time to save Louma'li.

The seeker's senses could process anything, so disoriented by the horrid power that had almost burnt him alive from the inside out, leaving him standing in a small, smouldering crater, bleeding profusely and littered with bruises and burns. He was alive. They were alive. The aether of the prisms had seeped back into the land.

Mission accomplished, for what it was all worth.

Featuring @astraladvent

[nhara-tia]

Emptiness

It was time to get rid of the Prisms. Their corrupting influence had plagued the Advent for too long and it was decided how they were to be dealt with: the Burn was a location critically devoid of aether. The company would clear out a section of the Burn of the native creatures and use that space to channel the aether of the prisms back into the land.

The first step was having to deal with the beasts in the first place.

The group was split into two core parties: N’hara elected to accompany Kotoe, Sejad, and Reks into a section of the Burn where the monsters were much fiercer. Berrod would lead Autgar, Louma’li, Martin, Tiergan, Zachary, and Frae into another section with less intense creatures, though far more numerous.

N’hara had never been there before and the moment he arrived, he wanted to leave. He was used to sand, but sand at the ocean was one thing. The dry, moistureless, lifeless sand of the Burn was another and it didn’t help in the slightest there was a sandstorm happening.

Their mission was to press on through the wasteland and press on they did. The sandstorm enabled small rockslides as they ventured through some cliffs, a “sandfall” had put much of the tiny grains in unmentionable places, but on the other side lay a tunnel system that gave them a reprieve from the adverse weather. It shouldn’t have, but did, come as a surprise to the group to find a section of constructed tunnels beneath the dunes, all of them bearing the obvious architecture and glowing panels of Allagan technology.

The end of their designated run lead them to a stone outcropping that overlooked a fast swath of the Burn, nothing but horizon as far as the eye could see. Within the space lay the corpse of a giant worm of some variety, sharing the desolate landscape with some Allagan magitech in the distance and a Garlean airship that had long since been claimed by the sands.

Their return to the base camp was blessedly uneventful, the group taking a moment to collect themselves, recover what aether they could, and stay hydrated. N’hara practically allowed himself to collapse onto the ground to rest, looking up at the clear sky to center himself and meditate.

It was a fair bit before the other group managed to return. They were bruised, but not beaten. Apparently some ticks had grown too large for their own good and needed some culling. An airship was due to pick them all up for a time to rest and recover. They would venture back with the Prisms at a later date to finish the work they started.

Featuring @astraladvent

[nhara-tia]

Refulgent Memories

Reks was in danger.

A trip into Amdapor Keep had seen Reks lost within its walls, swallowed by ice and light. An emergency call had gone out to rally a rescue mission. Natja, Autgar, Zaius, X’ani, Louma’li, Martin, Tarot, Orion, and Tiergan had been available to answer. While nobody was perfectly sure which place within the empty halls had their ally captive, the presence of Prism aether and an intense shift towards ice and light made the search much more possible.

N’hara was glad to have a strong affinity towards ice and fire, enabling him to better survive in the environment that Reks’s out-of-control magics were creating.

They had found him deep within one of the sanctums, a place that looked almost like an Ishgardian chapel than anything. The Seeker wasn’t even trying to hide. He’d been waiting for them. Everyone could see something was wrong with Reks and were cautious of what was coming next. The caution proved warranted, as aether lashed out at all of them, creating a phantom drowning sensation in the building. It took a coordinated effort to break the barriers the mage had surrounded himself in to disrupt all of the magicks Reks was weaving.

Three phantom creatures pulled Reks from the engagement and took his place: the Heart of Regret was a beast in the shape of a man that attacked with claws and rage. The Heart of Emptiness was a tall mage that struck with blazing light. The Heart of Yearning was a similarly tall woman who supported the first two with protective and healing magics, negating what little damage the party could do.

It took a coordinated effort from the whole group to eventually drop the creatures one by one.

The group was being worn thin and still the assault wasn’t over. Whatever force was pulling on Reks’s strings seemed to take full control now. It surrounded the Seeker with clay bodies and resplendent wings. If this entity was as powerful as it looked, the fight would need to end quickly. A pulse of horrid cold over the group only punctuated that. They were running out of time. N’hara pulled as much of his internal aether together as he could, focusing it into his hands. He needed every onze of aether he could spare and needed extra focus due to the chill that was still gripping him. Hands cupped together, he focused that aether into a volatile sphere, compressing it to make it even more potent.

Nothing in his arsenal hit harder than Lightbringer and that violent outpouring of aether was aimed directly at the creature that Reks had been taken over by. The attack was blocked and much of N’hara’s aether was spent. Options were running out and the half-highlander wondered just how desperate he was in that moment.

Pretty damned desperate was his conclusion.

He reached into a pack and pulled free a phial of glittering blue liquid. N’hara had worked hard to overcome the phobia of medicine that he’d been suffering from for a very long time. He still hated the idea of taking one, hated the thought of possibly falling back into old habits. He hated the thought of being useless even more. He put the phial to his lips and drank the whole thing down.

The medicine immediately got to work helping to restore his aetherial reserves and N’hara hated how good it felt. He charged back into the fray, Army of One magnifying his strength as he launched into an all-out-assault on the clay hide of the creature that had taken over his friends.

Strike after strike after strike rained down, beating the creature into submission until the true target revealed itself: the prism crystal that had caused this whole mess in the first place. N’hara grabbed it with a forceful hand and Louma’li helped yank it free. A burst of light enveloped the arena and the fight was over. And yet, the danger wasn’t passed.

Reks was fading.

The toll of the battle, of channeling the dark intentions of the souls within his soul crystal had taken a toll on the man’s corporeal form. The spirits of the three Hearts, unknown individuals connected to Reks’s past, appeared to help stabilize the fading Seeker. Aether was needed and the group of people who had rallied to save their friend and ally offered what they could.

The ice melted. The spirits faded. Amdapor was quiet once more.

Reks was, for a mercy, fine. Exhausted, but fine. With what little strength the group had left, they staggered their way back to the company house to rest and recover.

The prism rested locked in one of N’hara’s pockets... that would need to be dealt with...

Featuring @astraladvent​ and @reksblanc​

[berrodarmstrong]

((Reference items for Berrod, done by yours truly!))

[cocopark]

Whatever stands in our way… we will never give up hope.

[nhara-tia]

The Fourth Light Chakra

The Fourth Light Chakra is strongly aspected to the element of fire and is indicative of its characteristics and dangers.

This chakra is highly sensitive to the current emotional state of the user, reacting to chemical and neurological stimuli commonly associated with strong, positive emotions.  In essence, the greater one experiences emotions such as passion and love, the more powerful the chakra's reaction. This reaction can occur consciously or unconsciously, infusing that fire aether into the user in order to grant intense surges of physical might. In non-monks, such a reaction is oft-attributed to the surge of strength that parents might experience should their children be in danger.

However, this is not to be taken as only a boon. Much like physical fire, this chakra is capable of consuming the innate aether of the user to fuel its own fire aether. Unchecked, this can quickly cascade into overtaxing and completely consuming the user's natural aether. Those who fall victim to this are metaphorically and sometimes literally "burnt out" by this chakra.

Mastery of this chakra thus comes in the form of mastery of the self and ones emotional connections. Love is not a negative thing to experience, but one must also be aware of and respectful to their own boundaries and limitations. Time and care must be taken to focus on the self and revitalize ones own emotional and aetherial reserves before it can be focused elsewhere.

[berrodarmstrong]

The Paladin of Rhalgr - Rhalgr’s Will.

“With this blade, with this shield, with my flesh, blood,  bone and soul, I will protect my friends, my loved ones, and the people of Gyr Abania who cannot protect themselves. I do so in the name of the Destroyer, as a Paladin of Rhalgr.”

So goes the oath of a Paladin of Rhalgr. This oath becomes the conduit of the Paladin’s power, the focal point through which many of their abilities are amplified and exercised. Many of these abilities require a strong body, a sound mind and a steady soul. At the same time, the Paladin must be able to endure the relentless onslaught of foes if needed. The demand placed upon them is by no means a small one. 

This is where the Paladin’s faith proves to be the connection between oath and action. The belief in the Destroyer and His will is declared in word, deed, or both. It can be a spoken prayer, a gesture, or simply a presentation of sigils or geometry upon one’s garments and attire – though the first two tend to be more effective in conveying faith. The Paladin acknowledges that  everything they do through their oath, they do in accordance with Rhalgr’s will. This belief interacts with both the crystal and the oath itself and provides a holy strength and fervor that prepares them to push past their physical and spiritual limits. 

Such holy resolve, however, is often noticed by many who would harm those under a Paladin’s charge. It may mean that every swing of the sword and bash of the shield will incur more ire, more violence. This is a favourable result, for if a foe wishes to do harm to Rhalgr’s faithful, it is the Paladin they must answer to. Naturally this is not something anyone can simply pick up and do. It requires a great deal of physical and spiritual training – as well as the faith to see it through. 

So writes Berrod Armstrong, Paladin of Rhalgr. 

((Please understand that these writings are extrapolations upon existing lore, and based on my own character’s studies and experience. If lore is released that forces adjustments, I’ll be more than happy to do so, but in the meantime, I’ll play in the sandbox that was provided. That being said, if you feel the need to…attack me or my writing over this – please reconsider. I assure you, that time and energy will be better spent leaving me the hell alone. Thanks for understanding! For those who enjoy this, thanks for reading!))

[berryarmstrong]

POC WoL Week Prompt 3: Adventure

Character Featured: Brooker Bandersnatch, Conjurer and adventurer.

Ramble time.

Keep reading

[berrodarmstrong]

After a great deal of encouragement from my friends today I finally decided to make Berrod look the way I’ve always wanted him to. I always hesitated or minimized the changes because I had so much art, story, and screenshots, but I can make new stuff from now on. I’ve got a lot to change and update, but it’s worth it. I’m so, so pleased with this! Thank you for the encouragement, folks!

[nhara-tia]

Among Us

It was time for the Advent’s All Saint’s Wake party and the group gathered together to enjoy pumpkin-flavored treats of various types and enjoy whatever festivities had been planned for the day.

Straume, Blazh, Ta-heng, Omor, Natja, Kotoe, Andronikos, Lian’dr, Reks, Bayan, and Gregos showed up for the party and Drest Durendaire was their host. N’hara had opted to wear a costume emulating some great sage that drew upon dark powers to extend their life. It was not nearly as horrifying as Kotoe coming in dressed as a pumpkin-colored pig. Still, the lot of them were enjoying their refreshments and funny costumes when the festivities were set to begin:

There was a traitor among them! Someone who had cursed the manor and it was up to the Agents to undo the curse all while avoiding being hunted by the traitors.

If there was ever a time when N’hara’s heart was pounding in his chest, it was the 1-2 minutes he had to spend at each station doing his “tasks” in order for the Agents to emerge victorious.

There was a comical bit of misfortune the first round. Blazh and Gregos had been chosen as the traitors, yet neither knew the other were and, in a startling “murder” spree, Gregos’s first victim was poor Blazh. The next round did the hrothgar no mercy as he ended up getting killed in the same room. The third round was even less forgiving, as he was the first to die again. N’hara had to promise not to terrorize poor Gregos; the highlander was not the traitor the second round, but the half-highlander was finished with his tasks and sought only to give the man company. Said company was misinterpreted as a desire to “kill” him.

N’hara opted to sit out the third round, not about to push his luck with being in remote areas of the house and not getting “murdered”. He got lucky, as Bayan went on a murder spree that round and ended up winning the game for the Traitors.

It was a good party. More terrifying than the last one, but in a different and rather fun way.

[nhara-tia]

Meet the Staff

Kyndmann “Ken” Sterrbroessyn was hired as head of the house staff on the recommendation of the Goblet’s Residential Services. He has a decorated resume of hard work and leadership skills, marred only by many of his previous employers constantly going out of business. He hopes managing a private home will prove more secure and approaches his work with the same passion and commitment as always.

Gustav Blacke is a former adventurer long since retired. During his travels, he grew inspired by the culinary arts of the places he visited and desired only to share the many dishes he’d experienced throughout his life. He worked for a few restaurants during his day, but prefers to the personal relationship that comes with working for a specific employer. If you’ve ever seen a grandma when you say you haven’t eaten, you know exactly how enthusiastic Gustav is with his work.

N’rynn Tia is five years N’hara’s junior and a recent arrival to Ul’dah to study at the Weaver’s Guild. Mugged and robbed of his coin almost immediately, chance brought him and N’hara together. Not wishing to return home so quickly, N’hara offered to employ him as part of his house staff to help him stay and improve his craft at the guild.

Cailean Rivers is the “brother” of Einar Stone, the gardener for the Astral Advent. Much like Einar, he does a little of everything, from cleaning to gardening to minor house repairs. A man of few words, one can often forget here’s there, going about his daily duties with nary an interruption to anyone else. He is one of the rare few of Einar’s “siblings” to be literate and enjoys dipping into N’hara’s vast collection of books when there’s nothing else to do.

[jancisstuff]

Remembrance of the Fallen

Nald’Thal 2020

The area has been cleared of debris with a few large blankets spread out for folks to sit together. Baskets of lilies and cowry shells randomly set about the riverbank. A couple incensorys are up wind, the soft aroma of local herbs notable in the incense adding to the serenity by the riverside.

“I thought only of my failure… and not the promise I made to her that day… to protect those in need of protection, save those that could be saved, and seek justice for those that cannot…" 

“Today I want to make sure that they know that we will remember them, and we wish them a good rest. That we will place their books back onto the shelves, and speak their history so that they are no longer forgotten.”

“Hope we meet again someday, somewhere.“

“On this sun I mourn their loss, exalt their memories; those we could not save.”

“I carry you with me…but I must move forward, for us all…." 

"I did not bring any items. Only memories for the waters to claim if they’d have them.”

“Who I speak of was someone I barely knew yet, I could have easily been on his path of life.”

"We are meant to cry. Our lives are filled with both sad and happy memories. We are not meant to dwell. In these tears we shed, we do so willingly. For all our lives. What a curious thing that our lives are more than one." 

“Every day, I see the wisdom in his words–when I speak with members of this free company–their zest for their interests, their love of food and song and clothes and hobbies and magic–everything you all have laid your hands to breaths with your love for it.”

[nhara-tia]

Prompt #10 - Avail

N’hara frowned.

He hadn’t been sure what he would expect to find at the latest gathering of the Ala Mhigan Markets, but ended up being pleasantly surprised. Aside from the usual food vendors, one of the Astral Advent members had a stall open and was selling what might loosely be described as adventuring equipment (though the actual selection was far broader). Bags were a large selection of the wares and it reminded him of his own waist-pouch. He’d had the one since studying in Ishgard and, while well loved and quite familiar to him, it probably wasn’t going to last much longer.

On recommendation, he’d purchased a hip-pouch, one that offered more storage space and as he tested it, didn’t seem to hinder his movements at all. All in all, 40 gil well spent.

He’d visited another stall and this one was selling newly bound books.

Upon seeing the table itself, he felt the unrelenting stab of weakness strike him right in the chest. All the books were so gorgeously made and fit for a variety of reasons. One tome in particular caught his eye: it was thick and bound in dull, beaten leathers and the pages were quite resilient.

It was no secret that N’hara had been compiling his own notes and personal research on the nature of the chakras, hoping to record all he learned that his soul stone would not be able to pass along. Most of his research was in a loose collection of pages that he kept manually organized, but this... this might be a good way to keep everything in order. He paid for the book and then went on his way to enjoy what time was left at the market.

Why had he frowned?

With his new pack secured to his hip, he thought it prudent to put the bag to good use and store his book in it, tragically to no avail. The book was just a bit bigger than what the pack could securely hold.