I didn't think that the transition between zones would be a Gridania-like tunnel, but lo-and behold, Francesca and I continued our route for over 4 hours, walking through a tunnel that was accented with the soft glow of fire crystals that occasionally dotted the walls and ceiling.
Something that XIV 1.0 had over A Realm Reborn was that the entire world was seamless. There was no loading outside of transitioning into dungeons and the like as far as I knew. Of course the technical cost of this was probably insane.
Add on the high fidelity, the PS3 console targeting for specs, and incredibly detailed cutscenes and you have a recipe for an MMO that worked more as a movie than a proper playable game. The various "camps" that I had come across in Thanalan were evidence of this.
It was surprisingly relaxing to walk through the lengthy and winding tunnel that supposedly led to Northern Thanalan. I was enclosed on most sides and didn't fear sudden attack from things hiding within the sands. I still kept Protect up, and although I didn't really have a need for Aero, flashbacks of my time with that cockroach persuaded me to keep it on as well. What if a scorpion was attached to the ceiling and then suddenly decided to let go as I passed under it? Aero might be a permanent addition to my traveling spell list.
I had the occasional thought pop into my mind about those small camps and how they could be turned into towns. Gridania had actual towns instead of camps. Limsa Lominsa as well, entire towns were built in craters and carved out of cliffs. Thanalan was the city-state that was undeveloped and it struck me as strange as to why.
I couldn't get my hands on the Mythril Eye, but could I compensate for that buy buying these camps after the Calamity? By that time, Raubahn would be in the Syndicate, and I could take more open action with less fear that they'd blatantly target me. Could the Daemon Company strike a deal to help those camps rebuild? The money coming in would be incredible.
'However...'
Governing wasn't in my wheelhouse. I could delegate people to work in my business ventures with little issue. I controlled their paychecks and audited our books after all. However, to run not just one town, but multiple, I'd be putting myself into the role of those who run the city-states themselves. Forever locked up and tending to bureaucracy. Kind of like my Minfilia was originally destined to do, but rather than managing city-states, she managed the Path of the Twelve and then the Scions.
Does it even benefit me? I'm sure competition would see me as someone to work at overturning, and unlike small business, large governments regularly go to war over stuff like this. Territory, resources, terrorism, perceived persecution of a minority population, there were many ways they could manufacture a reason to take me down and drive me out. Then all my work would be theirs. In short, the benefit didn't outweigh the cost.
I shook thoughts of being a regional ruler from my mind. The Daemon Company had to stay in the shadows. It would ruin the neutrality of the Scions if anyone found that my interests were compromised in such a tangible way. I could excuse my Kan-E, but to be a Scion and hold ownership of Camp Drybone as well as Black Brush Station?
'Stick to the plan.'
Yeah. That was for the best.
---
"Cough-Cough-Hack! Fuck! Hack What the COUGH hell is that?! Cough!"
We had finally emerged from the tunnel and arrived in Northern Thanalan. However, even Aero couldn't repel the air that sat stagnant and heavy around me. It smelled like a thick mix of sulfur, copper, and burnt wood. It stung my nasal passageways and made my mind buzz with an uneasy and disgusting high.
[Purify]
For a moment, the shining blue light wordlessly cleansed the area around me and it felt like I could breathe again, but not too long after, the air once again became that disgusting stench of wrought iron and surging chemicals.
Kweeeh...
"Yeah, it's terrible."
I knew it ahead of time, but I didn't think the stench would be so terrible that it'd damn near burn my eyebrows off!
Northern Thanalan was known for one thing and one thing only.
Ceruleum processing.
I hadn't even arrived at the processing plant yet, and I already caught a heavy whiff of why Northern Thanalan had its characteristic blue fog.
"Let's go fast, okay?"
Ke-weh!
I held onto Francesca's reins tightly and kept my balance as we dashed through the thick blue haze. She didn't know where she was going, so it was up to me to navigate the traditional Thanalan terrain while still moving in the direction of Mor Dhona. I absolutely did not want to stay in this place for long.
Northern Thanalan was Eorzea's main source of ceruleum, a flammable liquid that acted as a fuel for many machines and engines. It also just so happened to be the main fuel source for the empire's war machines. It was in this place, that the Empire staged an attack to obtain a local fuel source and were pushed back by the Immortal Flames, though, that seemingly was in the future.
Through the azure haze of refined ceruleum I could see massive steel pipes that refused to bend or give to the land, instead deigning to tunnel straight through cliffs and the like to deliver the unstable fuel from Point A to Point B.
Long before airships and engines were introduced to Eorzea, Amajina & Sons Mineral Concern recognized the value of this blue gold and gobbled up almost every untapped ceruleum deposit and sold said fuel to whoever was willing to buy it. Ironically enough, the main buyer was the Empire. One could say that Eorzea directly sold their futures away for short term profits or perhaps they were naive enough to believe that an empire that was obviously ideologically opposed to them could ever be befriended and worked with. I wasn't one to judge their shortsightedness.
Such a thing was common on Earth as well, no matter the nation or point in time, all were guilty of nodding their heads dumbly when evil stared them in the face.
Gargantuan steel cases that spat fire into the air and more of that horrible blue waste dotted the skyline and the towering cliffs that surrounded us. There was virtually no plant or animal life. Just the subtle bubbling of blue oil and the clanging of steel machinery.
In XIV, Northern Thanalan was host to a place called Camp Bluefog, but Northern Thanalan had lost almost half of its map size in the Calamity. I had no idea where it would be relative to where I was now or what my map displayed as the true geography. I could only move on blindly, following narrow cliffs and walkways to escape this damnable place.
[Purify]
Even if it was for but a few moments I needed the fresh air to fill my lungs with life. I couldn't bear the overwhelming stench that threatened to knock me out cold, like a bully at recess. I'd pay the money it demanded from me if I could, it was that terrible. Northern Thanalan was a place that we'd have to spend a lot of time working on in the future, but I refused to come back here without a fucking mask.
---
We had finally escaped from Northern Thanalan.
[Purify]
A light blue cleansing light washed over me, but I began to feel a familiar headache. Master Louisoix said that Aether capacity didn't increase unless you pushed your limits. This was a sign that I was tapped out.
I slightly shifted my weight in the saddle and twisted my spine a bit.
crack-wvhooooosh
A cool and refreshing feeling filled my cells and rejuvenated my body.
"Ahhh, it feels good."
Kweh.
"I didn't forget you, hehe~ Come on. Let's set up camp, I'll leave you with a treat with your greens for doing such a good job!"
Keweh!
Francesca flapped her wings in excitement and we trotted along further. The elevation was starting to change, and the sand was starting to give way to solid stone. We were getting higher. The clouds were thin and rolling fast. The wind was strong enough to chill me through my Aero.
"Hm, it'd be best to put you in a cave for the night. It's colder up here."
Chocobo had very thick plumes of feathers. While it was usually fine for most climates, Francesca was from the sands of Ul'dah. She hadn't yet adapted to the biting chill outside of its borders. I kept an eye out as the cliffs began to sink into the land and the ground began to turn wild and unpaved. We were reaching beyond the grasps of civilizations now. Until the Calamity, much of Eorzea was still wild and untamed. There was a camp somewhere in Mor Dhona according to the map, but I didn't want to leave my bird with a gaggle of strangers that were beholden to no authority other than the Twelve.
"There."
I steered us to a mossy and thick cliff than looked to surge above the clouds. I carefully dismounted from Francesca and pulled out my shortsword. The longsword would channel far too much Aether for what I wanted to do next.
"Step back a little bit?"
Kweeh
I pointed my short sword at the cliff, pooling my Aether through the palm of my hand and letting it soak into the steel, when it was sufficiently full, I stabbed forward with my whole body weight.
[Stone]
SHHHUCK-CLICK - VSHIIISSHHH
A medium-sized dome like hollow was made in the cliff, all the stone that used to exist where air did now, turned into small pebbles and a thick cloak of dust.
[Purify]
After cleaning, what was left was a somewhat smooth and obviously artificial cave that I had cut into the cliff wall. It was tall enough for Francesca to stand up straight.
Kweeeh!
"Hehe, glad you like it."
We walked in and I began to unpack. Francesca was a smart girl. I didn't need to leash her or anything so I took off the reins and let her stretch her wings freely as I unpacked a few things. First was a collapsible feeding trough, then a large and dense bundle of crated Gysahl Greens. They were like a very bitter lettuce. Although man's taste buds were despised by the plant, it seemed to agree very well with Chocobo. As a result, they became the fodder of choice for the beasts of burden.
I pulled apart the paper packaging and let the fodder fall into the tray. The best part about camping was that every time we stopped, our packs grew lighter. Our schedule was in fact, faster than I had anticipated. Originally, tonight was going to be spent in Northern Thanalan, but thanks to the hazing ritual we were put through, our haste had moved us far beyond where I had anticipated we'd go.
Next I pulled out a sack of Curiel Roots, a parsnip potato hybrid that could be cut down into french fries, but just like the Gysahl Greens, were far too bitter for human consumption. Using my shortsword, I diced them up into small chunks that were dispersed into the fodder.
Kweeeeehh!!
Francesca excitedly flapped her wings and shook her tail feathers.
"Knew you'd like that~"
She was too cute at times like these. As a garnish, I pulled out a small satchel of Mazlaya Greens. Unlike the other two, this was perfectly consumable by people, but worked as a type of catnip for Chocobo. They were addicted to the taste. And this was the treat that I had promised her for doing such a good job.
"Okay! Dig in!"
Without another word, Francesca went to work, chowing down at her meal in the feed box. I pulled my Warp Marker and tucked it into the ground near the back cave wall.
[Stone]
Using Stone, I constructed a smaller entrance-way and went outside to see how well it hid our small camp. I couldn't light a fire, as the smoke would be a dead giveaway, but I could leave a few crystals as light for Francesca to relax in while I was gone for the night.
'Hm. I wish I could grow that ivy and moss.'
Above the cave, the ivy was obviously cut away. Though that alone didn't indicate something had happened, they were all cut to the same length and too neatly. It was like a sudden transition between natural and not.
Pulling out my longsword in my right hand and keeping my shortsword held in a reverse grip with the other, I prepared to use a weaponskill that I thought I'd never have a use for. The intention was to roughen up the cliff and make the vegetation more believable.
In my mind's eye, days of solitary training with the dummies under the Gladiators' guild flooded my memory. Long nights pouring over old technique manuals and longer nights still playing as a Paladin, being grateful that my dogshit weapon rotation had finally gained some spice after level 26.
[Rage of Halone]
Swoo-sh
A swipe to the right with my longsword, the Aether pooled into my fingers.
Swii-sh
A natural backhanded lash to the left with my shortsword, the Aether rubberbanded back towards my heart. It was ready.
WHIISH-FWOOOOM - SHIIIING
I slashed my longsword down and then pulled it back up like I was cracking a whip. A flood of Aether left my heart and transferred into my longsword, leaving a sliver of a line in space that cracked open and spread like mad. The cliff, the rocks, the ivy and moss, all were cut in a chaotic and forceful display of divine loyalty.
I stood in place for a bit, surprised at the force that Rage of Halone had shown but at the same time, comparing it to my feats in magic.
'As I thought, magic is stronger.'
The dust cleared, showing the cliff as a scarred and mangled thing. Spiderweb-like cracks and debased patches of green nature were cut back into something far less artificial and neat.
'This ought to do.'
While the weaponskill was not insanely loud, I still took a quick patrol around to see if any idiot was dumb enough to try and investigate a sudden sound they had heard. After 15 minutes of patrol, I was convinced things were fine.
After a quick chat with Francesca, I pulled out my Hearthstone and glided my finger across the surface.