#meracydia

[desertleviathan]

So back before Dawntrail came out I was able to predict an awful lot about it via the following logic chain:

Ninja is the last class that has an armor category all to itself. A second Scouting class would therefore seem like an obvious move.

What would such a class look like? A whip? Nah, that would be an animation nightmare. Nunchaku? Same problems, if not as extreme. A staff? Nah, those are firmly the domain of Wizards in this world. But... a staff with blades on either end? Yeah, that seems very likely.

Oh yeah, Zidane sometimes used weapons like that in FFIX. But also dual-wielded knives in reverse grip like a Ninja. Maybe the new Scouting class will evoke that by having dual modes where you sometimes wield two swords and sometimes slam them together into a bladed staff? Haha nah, that's crazy. But just a bladed staff? Sure.

They haven't done much with IX references in XIV. Maybe they could do something riffing on the attempted dimensional merger between Gaia and Terra? The whole Shards and Rejoinings thing feels like a second take at that concept anyway, since IX didn't really present it super clearly.

Maybe this time the threat to the Source could emerge from another Shard. Like one of the surviving shards is unstable and seeks to combine itself by force with the Source in a way that gives primacy to the people of the shard rather than rendering them down to raw aether first like in a standard rejoining.

Haha wouldn't that all be nuts? They'll never do that.

(A year later) Oh shit they did all of that?

So now I'm going to try that again with completely baseless speculation about the next expansion.

We've got six Melee DPS jobs and four Caster DPS jobs, but only three Ranged Physical DPS jobs. Every expansion has at least one DPS job, and I strongly suspect the next one will be a Ranged Physical DPS.

What have we got left in classic Final Fantasy character designs to possibly use for inspiration? I guess a few people use crossbows? Throwing knives? Bombs? Shuriken? Those sort of lacrosse racket looking things in IX that were also in Crystal Chronicles? None of those feel super likely.

Oh! A Blitzball-wielding job like Wakka would work, though!

The Devs have stated that they've thought about adding Blitzball as a minigame in the past but couldn't find a place to squeeze it into either the development cycle or into a natural fit in the story. Maybe they're holding out for something specific? In any case, I feel like a Blitzball Game and Blitzball Job would probably arrive at the same time.

Incidentally, they've been teasing stuff going on in Meracydia for ages, and it's one of the last places left on the map that we haven't gone to.

If the reveal trailer for a Meracydia expansion doesn't include a shot of our ship approaching some fantasy version of the Sydney Opera House I will be shocked. Shocked!

Oh holy crap it will be a Blitzball Stadium!

I have nothing to base this on other than just sort of vibes. It's what I would pitch if I were working there. Well, no, what I would pitch is the Chrono Trigger inspired expansion where we retroactively prevent Haurchefant from having ever died. But this Blitzball in Meracydia thing would be second on my list.

[starrysnowdrop]

Sooooooo I have a question…

Is there anyone out there who has an OC from Meracydia? How do you accomplish this without having hardly any lore out there to help develop the character besides the tiny bits in the MSQ and the Warring Triad? Is this just too difficult to accomplish?

I had a barebones idea for an OC but I don’t know how to flesh them out properly because we have so few details of Meracydia so far.

[echoes-of-ancients]

Sinro Tribe Lore

The Sinro tribe originated in a very remote snowy mountain range in Meracydia but were forced to relocate during the Allagan Invasion

They settled in Coerthas because it most closely resembled their former home

The tribe gradually got smaller as time went on and Khujah is thought to be the last "true" member, as Renoki and Rhunara are half Seeker of the Sun

All tribe members were taught to wield a spear and a bow, with males usually starting with a spear and females with a bow

The reason for this was that females were typically smaller and more agile than males, so could more easily hide in trees and other more precarious locations to fire arrows without being seen

Though they learn to use both, most tribe members prefer to stick to the weapon they learned to use first

A typical hunting/patrol party consisted of male lancers and female archers

The archers would hang back and often find good hiding places to fire their arrows from, while the males would charge in and engage the enemy/prey on the ground

Due to the remoteness of the mountain ranges that made up the Sinro tribe's territory, the tribe was very isolated and defended their territory fiercely

Living conditions in the mountains were tough, so the tribe carried out daily and nightly patrols to ensure that their territory was protected from intruders and that there were enough food sources to feed the tribe

During patrols, archers would often hang back so that they remained unseen by any potential intruders, and the lancers would go on ahead

If an intruder was found, one or two archers would then be able to return to the rest of the tribe to report back without being seen or attacked by the intruder (who would be dealt with by the lancers)

Khujah is more proficient with a bow whereas Renoki and Rhunara are both better at fighting with a lance

Almost everyone in the Sinro tribe were born with light to medium grey-blue hair that lightened with age, though some were born with pale purple hair instead

Their hair helped them to blend in better in the snowy mountain terrain

All tribe members were born with dark red eyes, which helped to shield against snow blindness

Renoki and Rhunara inherited all of the main Sinro tribe traits and got pretty much no physical features from their Seeker father

Their proximity to the Allagans meant that the Sinro tribe developed a good understanding of the Allagans prior to leaving Meracydia, and they even managed to smuggle some abandoned Allagan technology with them when they left

The technology was sold to allow the tribe to trade with merchants as they travelled, with a lot of it eventually ending up in the hands of the G tribe

The Sinro tribe adapted relatively quickly to life in Coerthas, with some of the tribe eventually spreading out to Dravania

A fair number travelled to Tailfeather and spent their lives trapping and raising chocobos, but they had all passed away long before Renoki set foot in Tailfeather

Animal husbandry has always been a skill amongst the Sinro tribe

Renoki is also very good with chocobos and raised Chichiri himself

Many lancers were hired by minor Ishgardian nobility, with several going on to bear the mantle of the Azure Dragoon

The start of the Dragonsong War brought an end to the Sinro tribe's Azure Dragoon days, as they refused to go against the dragons due to their Meracydian heritage

Renoki didn't learn about his family's tie to the Azure Dragoon until he, too, carried the title

The Dragonsong War caused a lot of displacement within the Sinro tribe

Eventually, as the tribe scattered to different areas, the tribe's birthrate dropped and the tribe slowly began to die out

Khujah retains hope that there are still some other Sinro tribe members out there somewhere, despite her tribe seemingly vanishing without a trace

Eventually, Khujah will travel to Meracydia to investigate the disappearance of her partner, and will try to find evidence that the Sinro tribe returned to Meracydia in the wake of the Dragonsong War

[bunnalien]

Local Meracydian dragon king and queen with their fuzzy adopted child

[shivasdarknight]

Because I'm so totally normal, I - of course - have an Allagan traitor and a Meracydian general as ocs.

And of course, they're Surkukteni's and Ysayle's immediate past lives.

Ammut is the brother to Amon. He's a trans man who greatly opposed the empire but tried to keep his criticism mild so he could continue to work with insurgents like Urth (Iolaine) without drawing too much attention to himself. He ends up getting in touch with the Meracydian resistance and works with them after....years of bickering to get them to trust him, and he winds up in a pact with Bahamut (aka: romantic interest), and starts dating Macchi. His pact lets him conjure weapons associated with Bahamut!

Macchi is a Meracydian Mithra, so he really should be a 6'3" tiger man, burly af etc etc. He's in a pact (again, deeply romantic stuff) with Tiamat, who so deeply trusts him that she let him partake of her own energy. So, dragon-catboy. His life is what Ysayle mistakes for Shiva and Hraesvelgr's, so she was right, but just a tiny bit off mark. He's resistant to the idea of ever working with Ammut - as a general pushing back against Allagan colonization - but he does end up working with Ammut and gets with him.

...the two end up caught by Amon and executed horrifically. They have powerful Voidsent summoned into their living bodies (considered inhumane by even Allag) to execute them publicly and use the bound Voidsent to kill Bahamut and topple Meracydia: in Macchi was Macha, the Voidsent of the Morrignae and would be the namesake of Mhach; in Ammut, was Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, who would be resummoned by Ammut's reincarnation 3,000 years later.

Their rage was so strong that Hydaelyn - taking the souls of her dead lovers, Charon and Khione - kept them by her to spare them further pain, not realizing she released them to reincarnate as Surkukteni and Ysayle (and Katsuro, but that's complicated).

im normal

[endarr]

In the Red Moon's Shadow

Deep within the once flourishing wasteland of Meracydia, the stones of a jagged, cracked mountain stirred. Here, before the peak had been sundered, there had been many a cave, housing nest upon nest of Bahamut and Tiamat's broods. Here, the wounded had slept to regain their strength. But no longer. Not since ancient Allag, drunk on the wine of conquest, had seen fit to strike at the very heart of their nigh immortal enemies, capturing what they could and destroying what they could not. Now all that remained was shattered cliffs and crumbled tunnels. All that lived, lived no longer.

And yet, the stones stirred. In this age far removed from that bygone conflict, as the world healed, something here healed as well.

Her eyes were still closed, and her body felt heavy, but it was time to awaken. She could feel this in her bones, yet her body would not respond. No, it wasn't her body, there was something weighing her down.

An amber eye, blazing like the noon sun, snapped open, a vertical slit pupil danced around, taking in the surroundings. Unfamiliar stone pressed in on her, pinning her in place. However, there was some give suggesting there was at least some room to maneuver.

The eye closed as she gathered her strength. Then, with a great heave, she strained, struggled, shifted until stone gave way to air, allowing her her first breath in... How long had it been?

Standing amidst the rubble stood a dragon. Not as large as one of the first brood, but growing up as she had in a time of war, her figure was imposing. Gargantuan, it was all spikes and harsh edges, sharp claws and vicious teeth, and wings meant for aerial combat. She had gone by many names, but the spawn of the dawn wyrm favored that used by the myriad followers of Sophia: Endarr. She knew these things.

But she did not recognize this place. A hollow in the rocks, perhaps once a cavern but no longer. She wracked her mind for memory of how she came to be here, but none came. The last she could remember was following her sire's song into battle, of the great beasts at the beck and call of the empire of man, of...

Her eyes shot open as the memory of her sire's wound surged to the forefront of her mind. For a warrior so ancient to be wounded so... She had to find him, to aid him! But wait...

Her own injury, she now remembered, taken in her desperation to aid her sire. She stretched and moved in this space as best she could, feeling for any discomfort or pain, but it seemed that despite how grievous it may have been her rest had been sufficient to mend it. Truly the vigor of the dragons was unmatched. Surely, then, it was her duty to return to Bahamut's side and rejoin him in defending their people.

Yet there still remained a mountain of rubble between her and the sky. Thus she set about her work, burrowing through the stone with claws honed in battle.

Time was of no consequence to her kind. Had it taken hours, days, to release herself from her tomb? Perhaps it had been even longer. Eventually, however, she once more gazed upon the sky. A welcome sight after so long underground.

The first thing she noticed was the song. Or perhaps lack of it. She could not hear the song of her sire, so long the only thing she could remember. His mate she could hear on the wind, so very far away, so full of lamentation.

And the sky, there was something wrong with it. The moon looked so different than she remembered. No, it was different. The one she knew was still there, but this one, an angry, burning red, gazed down at her, so strange and yet with a familiar tinge.

She hated it.

But how could she feel so? She knew nothing of this moon, surely she couldn't feel so strongly towards it. And yet she did feel, deep within her and with every fiber of her being, that it was something abhorrent.

To clear her mind she chose to rise into the air, in an attempt to gain her bearings. If she could find some landmark she could determine where she could go, who she could find. So she rose, higher and higher until all the land around her was visible, until she could see the patterns of the mountains below and see, despite the scars, exactly where she was.

And thus did she know the truth of that lament she could hear so far away. Below her lay the home she had known, the place holding the nest in which she hatched, where she had grown, heard the stories of her grandsire's sojourn, learned the ways of war, and been laid to rest in the dragonsleep; now it was a scattered mess, buried beneath the mountain that had once been its shield.

She sank from the sky, her wings losing their strength, until she landed heavily upon the shattered peak. A mournful cry escaped her throat as she lay upon the grave of her people.

Some time passed before she finally rose once more. The star continues to turn and if she was to help what remained of her people she could not stay here. Bahamut would know what she could do. Even if she could not hear his song there were other methods to find him. The nearest of the first brood would be found in Thavnair. Perhaps he might help her in her quest.

In the red moon's shadow, Endarr took to the sky to find her place in this new age.

[keykidpilipili]

I know we’re going to Corvos first but man imagine how many jump scares G’raha is gonna cause just by existing when we go to Meracydia.

[aegir-ffxiv]

Skittles!