#severian lyctor

[jlinebeck]

Happy Valentine's Day

[futureofdespair-xiv]

A quick work break.

[fourfoldfires]

a crucial part of my wol florian's backstory & impetus for becoming an adventurer in the first place has always been his elder brother roselin's death. roselin (a scholasticate dropout, back-alley healer and apothecary's assistant) was arrested by the temple knights and witchdropped without trial after his shady mentor had been found to be dealing in heretical goods; florian's rage at the injustice of the system that lead to these events & guilt over not having been there to protect roselin are fundamental core aspects of his character. it's one of those fixed events in the timeline that i can barely imagine who he'd be without.

that said: sometimes i still like imagining fix-it AU sillytimes where roselin Survived Somehow & took up the adventuring life himself as a freelance healer. also he's smooching alchemist guildmaster severian.

[beraxiv]

Masters of the Hand and Land

[octakiseron]

wol pls your husband’s getting concerned

[joiedecombat]

Of all the classes Raine's taken for all the jobs she has, who was the best teacher and who was the worst? Who was her favourite if neither of those.

Even narrowing it down to just the people whose official job it was to teach Raine things, it's hard to point to a single "best." For the purpose of this answer, I'm going with the ones from whom Raine learned the most valuable lessons, above and beyond the skills they set out to teach her - things she's continued to apply not only to one specific field, but in her many adventures since.

I'm also breaking it down between both the teachers of combat skills, and the ones who taught tradecraft.

With that in mind...

Among the leaders of Eorzea's fieldcraft and tradecraft guilds, H'naanza doesn't stand out as an especially colorful character. She has her shit together and she stays in her lane, focused on training capable armorsmiths and maintaining Naldiq & Vymelli's reputation for quality goods.

Most importantly, H'naanza has no tolerance for needless elitism. She recognizes that skill is learned with persistent effort, not based on inborn natural talent granted only to a select few. Raine learned a lot about professionalism from H'nanzaa, and a few important lessons about not letting perfectionism get in her way.

Speaking of colorful characters, though... Honestly, Severian barely had the inclination to teach Raine all that much about alchemy, so it's a good thing she had at least some basic education in the field before she came to Eorzea.

However, the great project that occupied Severian's attention over teaching happened to come to fruition while Raine was still struggling to cope with the tragedy at the Vault. The timing meant that Raine was forced to confront some home truths about loss and letting go. It wasn't at all a comfortable or pleasant experience, but it helped her come to terms with some things and it taught her a lesson she's carried with her since.

As far as tradecraft goes, Redolent Rose is probably Raine's favorite of her many guildmasters and teachers. Textile work was a chore she didn't particularly enjoy - mostly because as the only girl among her siblings, she was the only one expected to devote time to sewing and needlework while her brothers got to be outside doing more interesting things - and working with Rose helped Raine put aside her childhood grudge and recognize what a vital skill it really is. The two of them share a belief about the importance appearances can play in social interactions, and get along quite well.

No few of her tradecraft guildmasters emphasized the importance of listening to the client and understanding their needs. From Rose and their shared travails with Wawarukka, Raine also learned that sometimes the client doesn't know what they want, and often has no idea at all what they need.

Among the people who've taught her combat skills, Musosai holds a special place. The old man who set Raine on the path of the samurai taught her to take decisive action to confront injustice and stop evil, rather than hold back dithering over whether or not it's her place to step in. He also taught her to be ready to forgive, and to offer second chances when the wrongdoer seems sincere in their remorse and their crimes unlikely to be repeated.

Most importantly, Musosai taught Raine to hold herself accountable to the same standards of justice she applies to those around her, both for her own actions and the wider impact those actions have. And, at the last, he affirmed and reinforced the difficult lessons she had to learn about letting go.

I've talked before about Ywain and Raine's time with the Lancer's Guild in Gridania, but here he is again. Raine has lingering misgivings about how Ywain handled matters with Folques and the way that whole business played out... but the fact remains that the training she received from Ywain and the Guild has informed her fighting and adventuring style ever since, no matter what weapon she has in her hand.

From Ywain, Raine learned the importance of keeping a calm head and maintaining self-control under pressure. She also learned the difference between true courage, which sets aside fear in the face of danger in order to confront it calmly, and empty bravado which seeks to deny that the danger exists.

For the worst teacher that she's had, Raine can only have one possible answer: Solkzagyl. Fuck that guy. If there's anyone Raine would fistfight in a Denny's parking lot, it's him.

She found his treatment of poor Constaint reprehensible, and if he'd been the only example she'd had from which to learn how to be a paladin, she'd have hung up the sword and shield ages ago. If she never sees his face again, it'll be too soon.

As far as an overall favorite teacher, there's likewise no contest: X'rhun Tia remains the mentor Raine feels the closest connection with, and considers a particularly valuable friend. Though they haven't been teacher and student for some time, she's always enjoyed his company and looks forward to seeing him again and hearing what he's been up to since they last spoke.

[autumnslance]

Alchemy Quests

Alchemy quests are pretty much Sevarian being too absorbed in himself his work to deal with anything he deems beneath him, so “I’m sending my assistant.”

Then the Warrior of Light shows up and everyone’s all “...”

WoL: "I don’t think he’s realized who I am yet and at this point I don't wanna tell him. Also he didn’t really tell me anything or that I was even doing this, can you please fill me in?"

[deathflare]

crafting npc