Thancred was lounging around casually, outside the house of one of his paramour. They had gotten into a fight not too long ago and she had thrown him out onto the street. Thancred thought the "fight" was silly, but he was not one to argue fiercely with a lady. It was uncouth.
He laid his head back on the sandstone steps and glimpsed the beauty of the mid-day sky. Birds were rare in Ul'dah. He wished one would fly overhead right about now to add a bit of spice to his poetic melancholy.
The Syndicate recently had a bit of a shake-up.
The young Nanamo Ul Namo, the sultana of only 9 summers, had spared a simple gladiator, Raubahn Aldynn from a match rigged to likely kill him. The Bull of Ala Mhigo then vowed to serve as the sultana's sword.
Thancred's investigation turned up positive for the Bull's allegiances. He held no love for the Syndicate. He even suspected that they were the ones who threw him into the hells of the bloodsands to begin with. Instead, he truly intended to fulfill the will of Her Majesty, Nanamo Ul Namo.
A unique thing in Ul'dah. Even more rare within the halls of the Syndicate. The puppet ruler was still in her early summers, and yet had earned a staunch and fierce ally that would not easily bend or break.
It was possible that Ul'dah would be flipped onto its head. A welcome change for the Desert Rose. For some odd years, Thancred had been trying to get that stubborn group of Lalafell to take his Master's warning seriously.
Thancred found it ridiculous that after the entire city had seen the storm that picked up years ago, when Minfilia had awakened the Echo, the Syndicate continued to deflect every worry.
The primals are being summoned at this very moment? They are not within range of the city or any of our properties.
Many would yet die if they are not taken care of? Many more would die if the coffers of Ul'dah went empty fighting such a persistent threat and throwing bodies upon bodies at the problem.
Could a deal be struck with the beast men? They've been exiled from Ul'dah in the past some odd years. They would not easily comply without taking a chunk out of Ul'dah's sovereignty.
Thancred felt something strange on the inside of his mouth and picked it out. A pubic hair from his lover. He casually flicked his fingers and let it blow away on the wind. A poetic act that deserved a ballad, he reckoned.
It was exhausting work, but Thancred kept at it. He strongly believed in his Master's prophecy. Even more so after Minfilia's Echo awakened. A fact that he still wasn't sure how to report.
Recently, Y'shtola contacted him with worrying information. It seemed like repeated summonings from the Beast Tribes were ruining Hydaelyn's flesh. The balance of elements was distorted.
Summonings had been happening for years at this point. Probably for even longer than that. However, only after the Company of Heroes reported how they took down Titan, was Y'shtola provoked to investigate how Titan was summoned so quickly and with so few believers. The answer being Crystals, and perhaps an external force shifting powers unknown.
Thancred was tasked with measuring the Aetheric levels of Ifrit's summoning sites to verify or disprove his fellow Archon's claim.
He soon had to meet with the Circle on the decks of Limsa Lominsa to report his findings. What he found was Y'shtola, once more, being correct. Southern Thanalan's balance was horrific.
But how? Where did the previously traditional Beast Tribes learn such things? Thancred's instinct screamed that more was happening. A puppet-master was pulling on strings, playing Eorzea to it's tune. Was it the Empire perhaps? But how would they know, let alone teach, such things?
There was also the case of his dearest brother, Winter. Through methods unknown, he had escaped Ifrit's influence at the cost of his memories. The answer, Thancred thought, was connected to his strange magicks. But what if the theorized external force was involved?
Little Winter told Thancred where he believed that he woke up. The depths of Southern Thanalan. Where Ifrit was summoned. Only when he was told to investigate the levels of Aether did Thancred take the time to visit Little Winter's "birthplace".
'I assumed that I was at a party of some sort. One of many guests.'
There was a deep pit dug into the sands. It was filled with corpses. Little Winter had not spoken of it.
'I wasn't wounded, but my mind was empty and I felt terrified. Not just in the moment. I felt a lingering dread. Tis as if I saw something I shouldn't have.'
The flesh of the corpses were picked clean by predators and decay. The bones bleached white by the sun. The ones that didn't receive direct sunlight grew gray and distorted instead.
'Well, I remember a smell. It was like blasting powder. But it smelt hot and stung my nose.'
What if he didn't escape? He was left for dead. Would those who "killed" him return? Luckily, Thancred changed his name. But the horror still made his blood run cold. What if he had never visited Little Winter after the parade? What if Little Winter hadn't met his acquaintance once more? What if Little Winter hadn't saved his life?
Suddenly, the linkpearl hooked onto his ear hummed with the tune of Aetheric chimes. He picked it up and answered leisurely, still laying down in comfort upon his lover's doorstep. Surely she'd let him back in soon. He left his Quicksand membership token in there.
"Thancred? You there?"
Thancred could scarce believe his ears and sat up slightly.
"Little Winter?"
"Hiya!"
A soft smile played at his lips and rewarmed his cooling blood. Thancred's younger brother had left the city not too long ago for Gridania. As he didn't own a linkpearl himself, it was difficult to get in contact without relying on mail. Thancred made a mental note to himself to tell Miss Momodi that he had called.
Then a strange thought occurred in Thancred's head.
"Little Winter, how in the hells have you done this?"
"Done what?"
"This! Connected to my linkpearl!"
"Oh! I asked the Adventurer's guild here in Gridania."
Thancred pinched his fingers on the bridge of his nose. Why was his younger brother so strange? Do guilds go around renting linkpearls for individual use? And even if they did, how in the 6 hells-
"Little Winter."
"Yep?"
"Linkpearls can only connect to other pearls within their shell. Correct?"
"Mhm."
"And you're using a linkshell that doesn't have my linkpearl connected to it. Correct?"
"That's right."
"Then how are you calling me?"
"I traced your Aetheric signature and wrapped it around the pearl."
The light flickered in Thancred's eyes. He had almost fainted. A headache made itself known by thumping hard against his skull.
"...Hells bells."
"Don't worry! It's not damaged or anything. I'll just remove the signature after I'm done!"
Thancred wanted to cry. Life was so tough already. How did he end up with such a bizarre sibling?! Twelve be good!
His little brother was an astounding mage, creating miracles that would make Louisoix's tongue twist, but hells if he understands it! He could spawn a second sun in the sky and ask "Are you afraid of it or something?"
"I see."
Thancred had long learned that the best way to deal with his younger brother, was to nod his head and let go. His heart could not be burdened by mortal matters. His purpose was divine. He had a life to lead. He couldn't afford the stress to ferry him away to the Twelve just yet.
"Mhm! So Thancred, how would you feel about dressing up as priests and assaulting pirates of Limsa Lominsa?"
Thancred snatched the linkpearl off his ear and threw it as hard as he could.
---
The rest of my walk to the Conjurers' guild was uneventful.
'Hear'
E-Sumi-Yan still hadn't returned. I assumed he would return tomorrow, however I was starting to learn enough on my own to where I didn't truly need his help with the basics.
I was standing in a separate training hall. Much of the Conjurers' guild was entombed under the earth. Perhaps it was a legacy left behind from Gridania's history. Or maybe just a habit.
Before Gridania came into being, her citizens lived within an underground civilization called Gelmorra. The civilization was born as a result of the Calamity of Water. The elements were still mad as hell and Hyur and Elezen peoples had to flee under the earth to evade their wrath.
'Feel'
An unknown amount of generations later, the peoples of Gelmorra learned how to speak to the elements, hoping to make a deal that would halt their wrath and allow them to return to the surface.
This deal was the birth of Conjury and likewise, the birth of Gridania. Not everyone was willing to bend their heads down to the elements however. There was a certain faction of Elezen that refused to leave the caverns. They later would come to be known as the Duskwight Elezen. In modern times, they had emerged from Gelmorra, but they still considered that underground civilization home. Despite the fact that it had collapsed into an ungodly hell that made up 4 or 5 dungeons.
'Think!'
[STONE]
crrrruk --- crboom
A large mass of yellow-brown rock that had formed in front of me, flew out and hit the dummy.
What?
Did I think too plainly?
Well that's how it felt.
"..."
It sipped my Aether. Basically spending nothing at all. However compared to Blizzard, I was feeling...underwhelmed?
Could I have done more damage by throwing a rock? I tilted my head.
I decided to try again. Perhaps I just didn't put enough force into it.
[STONE]
crrrrrukkkk --- chrkboom
"..."
Slightly louder. But the dummy stared at me with a deadpan look on it's non-existent face. Dust covered it's head.
[STONE] - [STONE] - [STONE]
chrkboom - chrkboom - chrkboom
I looked up and closed my eyes. Okay. No problem. Not a problem at all. I paced around a bit. What did I need Stone for anyways? Why use Stone II? Just because I could use it, didn't mean I should.
I flexed my fingers slightly. I wasn't coping. Nope not me.
I stood in front of my dance partner once more. He gave me another deadpan look, asking me if he truly needed to be here.
It's for work you little bastard. Don't complain. Be thankful that you have idle hands and no supervisor to hound you. There is nothing worse than a busy work day.
The dummy sighed and urged me to hurry up.
[AERO]
VRRRRWOOOOOSH
shickt ---- shickt ---- shickt
I wanted to scream. Such a powerful sound and then it just did THAT?!
Small crescent shaped blades of wind would periodically slap the dummy. It shook slightly, but that was about it.
shickt ---- shickt...
Aero, like it's hotter big sister, Thunder, was a DOT ability. It used even less of my MP than Stone did. I should've guessed that it'd be like this.
I twisted my body slightly and flexed an area below my pectoral muscle.
crack - vwhoooooosh
A cool stream of Aether poured into my body, replenishing my MP almost to full.
I didn't bother to attempt Fluid Aura.
This was bad. I didn't know what I expected from the spells of a Conjurer, but they truly weren't that good for combat. Were they really only good for healing? Maybe I needed to learn Protect???
I paced around the training hall. I had to rethink my strategy.
I was still clinging onto the systems of XIV because I found them familiar. However I had to change my thinking, otherwise I'd be stuck just as weak as I was now. To grow, my methodology needed to change. I was okay with swordplay already. But magic was king in XIV.
Within the time that I've been in Eorzea I had already seen strange magicks that your player could not use in game. Mumuepo flicking his head to open doors and move objects. His ability to summon a training dummy on command. He even dissolved my snow with a flick of his head.
Maybe it was just the area? If these are the spells I'd have to work with, I didn't think I'd be able to survive past 2.0.
I tested something else.
[BLIZZARD]
VWHOOOOOOOOM - CRASH
SEE?! THAT'S HOW IT'S DONE! SO WHAT THE HELL!
---
I was "looking" at the rivers of Aether in front of me. Fire still wasn't here. He really packed his bags huh? I had thought on it for a while and came to the conclusion that casting spells, as is, would likely end with me dead or maimed in combat.
My talents obviously lay within these rivers in front of me. I could tap into them and redirect their power without a medium. But until recently, I couldn't figure out a way to truly use them.
I thought about the talk I had with sir Telent the other day. We chatted about the elemental polarities, Astral and Umbral. I only knew the lore of how they affected magic, but because I had never seen them in-game, I didn't know how they would be used.
'...should I try?'
It sounded like a common sense yes, however if I touched on something that I truly shouldn't have, I could evaporate into nothing. I "stared" at the river I was most familiar with. Even in Ul'dah, it existed.
Ice.
I used it to calm my nerves. I used it to demonstrate my ability. If I were to twist any element into Astral and Umbral polarities, it would have to be this one first.
I was about to step into the unknown. Not that I hadn't before. But this time I understood what I wanted to do. I didn't want to use a snowblower forever right?
I stood up from my place on the ground and walked over to Damien. My ever faithful dancing partner. Damien eyed me steadily as if evaluating my nerve. I wouldn't back down. There was no particular stance. There was no chant. My magic came to me as naturally as breathing.
I kept my eyes open as I "pulled" down a strand of frigid Aether. My fingers twitched in anticipation. I flicked the string around my "fingers" with familiarity. Just as I would when cycling my Aether storm. I whipped it faster and faster with my eyes still on Damien, who was starting to get nervous.
Polarities dictated that the nature of a spell would change based on if it was Astral or Umbral. But only its nature. The polarities did not give the spell form. That was my job.
The string of Aether gained even more speed. The infinity pattern that I used was unceasing.
Just as it was a mistake to think of healing as the mending of wounds, I theorized that thinking of Astral and Umbral as simple attributes was equally flawed. There is only Loud and Wild or Quiet and Controlled. Active and Stasis.
I placed my middle finger and thumb together.
The Umbral Eras were times of uncontrolled mayhem. The apocalypse given disastrous purpose. They were abrupt and final. The star's story brought to a close. A close so definite that the Calendar reset every time it happened.
It was a glorified snowblower no longer. To fight Primals, I had to at the very least be able to do this! Umbral Ice! Form-
[Cold Snap]
snap
I broke the pattern abruptly and "aimed" at Damien.
They were too numerous to count.
ZEW ZEW ZEW ZEW PLUCK PLUCK PLUCK
All at once, countless hilt-less blades of ice surrounded Damien from all sides and pierced through his wooden body. It was a sudden attack that left no room for the immobile dummy to protect himself.
SHATTER - FWOOM - CRACK
The blades exploded. Shattering Damien's torso into endless fragments of arboreal gore. Splinters of hardwood showered my head with horror.
I suddenly felt my chest and head. Was I dead? Was I going to die? How did I do that? Where did I draw it from?
The silence was deafening. It was just me on those training grounds, but I felt somewhat embarrassed.
I had an attack like this? All this time I've been using Blizzard like an idiot?!
Again! God dammit I want to do it again! YOU! JAYMIEN! YOU'RE NEXT!
Just like before, I "grabbed" another string of Aether and started weaving it in-between my "fingers" while readying my actual fingers. I brought it up to speed, if not faster than I did the previous time.
[Cold Snap]
snap
Zew Zew Pluck
Ah, of course it wouldn't be that easy.
Shatter - Crack
Jaymien was dead of course. It wasn't as if the spell failed. However, it had a notable lack in power. Instead of dying in a glorious explosion of ice and wood, he simply snapped in half. The explosion of ice sent him in the air a couple of feet but no higher. I gazed at Jaymien's expression of horror as the dummy realized how much life it had yet to live. A tragic tale brought to a certain and definitive end.
I didn't understand what had happened. Sitting down on the spot, I entered meditation and "looked" around the "world".
The river of ice was the same size and shape as before. So it wasn't as if it ran out. There must have been something wrong with my execution. I "pulled" another strand of Aether and held it close to me. A thin, string like strand that I was beyond used to seeing. We were sick of meeting each other in fact.
I tried using my "fingers" to twist it and "saw" the problem. My "fingers" were seizing here and there while going through the motions. They couldn't smoothly "hold" onto the string without it slightly slipping. Why? Did I use my MP after all?
It wasn't consistent. Cold Snap was useless if I could cast it at most twice. Somehow, I was back where I started.
I decided to go back and meditate on it. There had to be another way.
I turned around and saw a short figure standing in the shadow of the doorway.