JUNELEZEN :: Day 1 - Hello

Wandering off again, but isn't it a delightful way to meet people?

— “You fell asleep in my arms. It was kind of adorable.” For the touch starved prompt :3

A morning after shot I've been wanting to make from my story "You Find A Way" story below, contains Shadowbringers spoilers. Story takes place shortly after Holminster Switch

It was still bright outside the window of her room.  Flidais lay on the bed, sleep eluding her.  Her mind kept going back to the day prior.  Killing the Lightwarden at Holminster Switch and having all that light flow into her body.  The Exarch had been so sure the effects wouldn’t kill her, and something about him seemed so familiar it had caused her to trust him.  Now she lay, trying to adjust to the way the Light felt, her throat scars itching in a way no amount of scratching would help.   The itch almost seemed inside her skin.  She eventually gave up and walked to the table, needing some water to refresh her dry throat. 

The First was such a strange place, so much light.  Her Void touched body, one that had spent so much time lost to Darkness felt out of place, like at any moment she could just break apart and dissolve away.  There was also that nagging sensation she knew the Exarch, that he knew far too much about her than she should be comfortable with.  Her Floppy ears twitched, and she turned to the door just in time to hear a soft knock.  Someone was there, someone who by the sound of their sniffing and breathing had been crying.  Her keen Viera hearing picked up smaller feet, their knock had been lower on the door.  One of the twins maybe?

The tall woman threw on a robe and tied it before moving to the chamber entrance.  She creaked open the door and peered out into the bright hallway.  Alisaie stood there, a long nightshirt reaching below her knees exposing bare feet.  The young girl looked up at her friend, an almost adoptive mother to her and her twin.  Her eyes were about as red as her Red Mage soul crystal could suggest.  Her soft voice when she spoke was almost imperceptible and Flidais was grateful to her excellent hearing.

‘I’m sorry.  I know it’s late and you might be sleeping and I didn't want to wake you up but… I… I’m sorry but. I don’t.  I can’t…” Flidias ushered the young girl, a teenager but still so much younger than her own century and more of life, into the room.   Quickly kneeling, she put an arm around her.

‘Hey, hey, hey.  It’s okay, I’m here.”  Alisaie; sweet, confident, tough Alisaie looked into her eyes and tears formed again.  What she said next nearly broke the older Black Mages heart and she hugged her daughter tight.

“How do you continue on after losing the love of your life?”  Memories filled Flidias’s mind.  

K’shai.  

Fighting together, laughing, falling asleep in each other's arms talking about a little cabin in the forest.  

Running through the bloodstained, corpse filled Waking Sands, heart in her throat.  

A still form crumpled against a wall.  

The anger and loss.  

The brutal revenge quest that left her empty and drained.  

The ache that still hadn’t gone away.

She held Alisaie as the young woman cried, heaving sobs of loss and pain. The Elezen girl whimpering “Tesleen!  Tesleen, I’m so sorry!”   What do you say?  What can you tell someone so young, someone experiencing a loss so immense and raw?  Flidais stood and scooped the young Elezen into her arms, feeling her cling tightly, her slender arms wrapping around her neck.  Carefully she carried her bundle to the bed, sitting and holding the girl tight.

“I’m sorry dear, I don’t know.  Loss is never easy and yours is especially hard.  I do know that Tesleen cared for you as you cared for her.  I didn’t handle my loss well, as I’m sure the stories you’ve heard.  All I can offer is that we find a way.  We find something to keep going, to honour her memory.  We keep her in our hearts and live a life that would make her proud.  I’ll be right here beside you each step of the way, for as long as you’ll have me.”  The Viera bent and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, Alisaie tightening her grip as her sobs lessened.  

“Can I stay by you tonight?  Sleeping alone is…” she trailed off and swallowed hard, trying to dislodge the lump in her throat.  Flidais nodded and gestured to the large bed they sat upon,

“There’s plenty of room, if you want I can cast Sleep to help you rest”  Alisaie shook her head.  She shifted off the older woman’s lap and lay down

“I just don’t want to be alone.  Thank you.  For everything.”  exhaustion was clearing taking over the girl and Flidais carefully tucked her in before laying beside her in the large bed.  The poor girl was far too young to have to deal with such a loss, and hopefully their work here in the First could prevent so many more losses.  Her heart swelled in her chest though, as sleep finally seemed to overtake the girl, her last words before drifting off so quiet Flidais almost missed them

 “I love you Mom.”

I personally think Y'shtola deserves some more credit for how she advocates for the Warrior of Light during Shadowbringers. Without knowing the whole story I've always felt she had every right to be uneasy with the Exarch, and to be honest I was expecting a pricklier welcome from her in Rak'tika... but as soon as she realizes who it is, her greeting for the WoL is incredibly warm. I love that her first question is "How are you?" She cares about them! And when her aethersight gives her reason to believe the WoL is in danger, she's concerned! She thinks they need to be told! And when Urianger won't agree to tell them, she does it herself, because she thinks it's the right thing to do. She treats the Warrior of Light like a person who deserves to know what they're getting into and make an informed decision, and it's such a far cry from the "You'll do it because you're the Warrior of Light!" attitudes of everyone in ARR.

And I think it's also worth noting that in the end, after she knows the whole truth, she doesn't seem to hold any of it against G'raha. When you're back in the Source, she's talking about whether he should be given the title of Nunh after his long tenure as the Crystal Exarch, and after he joins the Scions, she seems cool with him, so I genuinely have no reason to think she holds a grudge about any of it.

She was, ultimately, concerned and wanted to do the right thing, and she cares about the Warrior of Light and their wellbeing, and I think that's an important thing about her.

custody battle (shadowbringers in a nutshell)

come shadow, come follow me!

in the ShB role quests, we watch each of Ardbert's party members make some sort of personal sacrifice, forced to discard their own goals, for the sake of the greater good. The moment they make that choice is when a Crystal of Light appears, officially marking them as Warriors of Light in recognition of their heroism and sacrifice. "By your sacrifice, a warrior made.", as the Shadowkeeper says in battle.

The same lore doesn't hold true for the WoL, back when they were in crystal-collecting mode in ARR and HW, the crystals just appear after major victories without the need for some sort of momentous sacrifice, and seem to serve mostly as a marker of how much story progress you've made/need to make to the end of the expac.

But if you think about it not lore-wise, but symbolically -

With each victory over a Primal, you're ensuring that you'll be the person who'll be called upon for help when next a Primal appears. You're cementing your own role as hero each time.

And each time, you are making personal sacrifices.

You might not even realize it until much later, what you have offered up, bit by bit - your freedom, your peace of mind, your own goals and desires, for the sake of the greater good of the star.

"By your sacrifice, a warrior made."

WE FIGHT AS ONE!

I made part 2 to this post because I had a lot of fun doing it

I got an Ultrawide monitor, but FFXIV Ultrawide backgrounds are in short supply. So until I get some inspiration and do some new Kalicred gposes for my monitor, I decided I needed to do some location shots.

Enjoy. :)

this cat boy has caused me so much grief already

of love

The bookworms and their young charges

I think Shadowbringers is a great example of how knowing or guessing the "reveal" doesn't hurt a good story, and writers who understand that will write more confidently and tell better stories. That the Exarch is G'raha Tia is not hard to figure out. He has a distinctive lip shape, and he's the guy who was in the Crystal Tower! He's not even a very good liar at the end of the day. And none of that makes his arc as the Exarch any less powerful, imo. I don't think trying harder to obscure the Exarch's identity would make Shadowbringers a better story. Because the emotional core of his arc isn't in shock value. It's in the unfolding story of G'raha's journey, how he came to be here, why he is hiding his identity, why he pretends not to know you or who G'raha Tia is. It's in the culmination of a hundred years of planning and secrecy and loneliness, in how he's willing to die to save two worlds and you, in why it all goes wrong at the last minute, in how hard he tries to play the villain so you'll let him go, and in how unconvincing he is in that role. It's in the choices he makes when he realizes he doesn't have to die. It's in everything he chooses to be. He has a good story, and a good story doesn't lose its power when you know all or part of the ending, because a good story is about the journey.

Hades

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