#Scholar and Mage

[dragon-queen-database]

The Horadrim and the Necromancer - Collage two.

📚🪦

[sanglunaria]

It took three and a half years, but I'm finally up-to-date with my hi-res jobstone illustrations. I started with the Summoner during summer of 2021, and I just finished my last one (Viper) a few days ago.

This project started because it annoyed me that there weren't any official hi-res images of the jobstones. I just really wanted to look at the pretty rocks that played such an important role in the game!!! So hopefully someone else who is obsessive about in-game items can derive some pleasure from this.

[95jezzica]

"Why do you not include Warriors in this Tank poll???" : Because a good Warrior is basically a one-man army and barely needs healing anyway, if at all. 😂 xD

.

[My own Healer thoughts is below the 'Read More' to not clutter the poll].

Now, in my own case I mainly play as a White Mage/WHM while healing, so my favorite Tank is Paladin. They're basically fine with a Regen, and in a pinch I can also add Medica II's own Regen. Hell, if the duty is high enough lvl to let me use Asylum, that makes my life healing a Paladin even easier.

WHM has a lot of focus on pure healing, so I pair really well with Paladin's high defense and many shield skills. Granted I might be a bit biased too, since my main jobs are Paladin/WHM/Warrior, which means I also have a good idea of what a teammate Paladin can and can't do at certain levels.

With that said I don't mind DRK/Gunbreaker either, because even if they shoot themselves in the foot (like Gunbreaker's superbolide 😂) I can usually just Benedict them up to full in a pinch. They feel a little more squishy in the lower level dungeons/trials though, since I don't have any of my few shields/"take lower damage"-skills at that point to give them. Meanwhile a Gladiator/Paladin already has a few shield-skills they can use at a low level, which pairs really well in those dungeons I can still only use Cure I and maybe Medica/Cure II.

[nerimaemae]

KA-FREAKING-BOOM-BABY

[mosthuggableffxiv]

Most Punchable Job Trainer (Healer)

Honorable mention to Jannequinard de Durendaire, who is not an Astrologian trainer in any sense of the word but is, in your humble pollrunner's opinion, pretty punchable.

[chaobunnyarts]

Healer teas 🍵🫖

[blackbirdffxiv]

SAGE ♢ WHITE MAGE

SCHOLAR ♢ ASTROLOGIAN

[arlathen]

it's funny that andrastianism was right but like a thousand years too early. like no a god and his (once?) mortal beloved didn't inhabit the golden city but. they do now.

[cloudofdarkness]

I’ve got some job stone candle restocks in on my Etsy! Come nab one!

Includes: red mage, Astrologian, monk, bard, scholar, dragoon, black mage, and blue mage! And I have a warrior and summoner in as well!

[caktoz]

Got asked about my vanilla glam in a discord server, thought you guys might like to see them too

(excuse the quality my pc is old)

[evolutionsvoid]

For the centuries that the Church of Divine Wealth has existed, its growth has been a thing of legend. From the simple four who started it all, to the thriving empire that now rules this land. It has grown, shifted, changed and consumed over the years, spreading its influence and assimilating other groups into its own mass. And from all this time and conquest, it has gained much. Be it wealth, power or followers, the Church has certainly amassed quite the hoard. But not all of it is treasure and faith, as from it comes one of the most valuable blessings of all: knowledge. Be it discovered in ancient ruins, gained from a master swearing allegiance or the raiding of a foe's library, the Church of Divine Wealth has accumulated an incredible amount of knowledge and information. While they do boast vast libraries, and great golden tomes sharing these gifts to the faithful, there is still simply too much to put in temples. If one were to try and cram every scrap of information the Church had into its shrines, then there wouldn't be room for even a drop of humor to fit. Thus, only a sampling of their wondrous knowledge is put on display for the public, while the rest is stored away in safety. However, where this massive library is is no secret, as any person could tell you. It is common knowledge within the Church where to find the answers to any question. Look upon the horizon, and see the great black spires that practically pierce the heavens. It is there, within the place known as Akavedah, the Towering Archives. And within its dizzying heights works one of the four pillars of the Church: The Scholars of the Black.

The Towering Archives of Akavedah is where all knowledge and information of the Church is stored, every detail and tidbit eventually winding up within their Black Bile crystals. There is simply so much of it, that it must be consolidated somewhere, and in a way where it is actually feasible to find. It is a never-ending task, of taking in new information, distilling it, comparing it to current records, updating it and storing it away within the countless spires. While many would find such a mission maddening, the Scholars of the Black take on this role with silent fervor. Their sect is one that loves only two things: knowledge and termites. The holy animal tied to Black Bile, the humor of knowledge, is one that inspires them. It is said that the obsidian spires created by this insects is what inspired the use of Black Bile crystals for storing information, as folk witnessed the intricate carvings of their tunnels and nests. The Scholars have taken this fact and built it into their entire culture, which is made obvious by Akavedah's cathedral of spires and mounds. And within this great black castle, are countless libraries, study rooms, crystal chambers and vaults. These archives hold such an insane amount of books, scrolls and crystals that it is said if someone devoted their entire life to reading every single one, they would pass away from old age before they even got out of the foyer.

And amongst all these pages and shards work the Scholars, always on the move and always working. It would seem their love of termites has crept into their own work ethic, as they never seem to stop. Outsiders who catch a glimpse of them in action would certainly see the comparison between these Scholars and the river of termites that flow within their tunnels. Information is constantly trickling into Akavedah, from Church messengers, copied tomes, found scrolls and returning intel gatherers. It is said that every piece of paper that finds its way into the Church's hands is copied and sent immediately to the Towering Archives. And once it reaches these obsidian halls, the Scholars get right to work assimilating it into their own expansive system. They strive to keep their institution up to date, perfectly organized and easily accessible. Which can be a challenge with so many papers and shards, but that is what the Scholars aim to fix.

The major task of Akavedah is to convert and condense all the knowledge they possess into smaller denser forms. Their rooms filled with tomes and manuscripts is impressive, containing more paper than an entire forest could make, but highly impractical for those who want all the info. Without consulting a Scholar to guide you through their labyrinthine archives, outsiders could get lost looking for a single book. Humorous tales even claim that somewhere in this endless crystalline castle is a tiny civilization of lost students and guests who somehow fell so deep into the archives that they can never find their way out again. So with the desire to condense it all, the Scholars work to convert all their information into Black Bile crystals. This is done by filtering the knowledge through their bodies and into a crystal, typically done through reading. And with so many books and only so many Scholars, their task is seemingly without end. Some say that even without their masks, one would never be able to see the face of a Scholar because it is always buried in a thick tome. They seem to always have a book in one of their hands, and have the incredible ability to do everything else while still reading and converting the pages. Scholars and their workers are capable of moving through their halls with such speed and coordination, while absorbed by their books, that it is very much like a bustling termite colony. They don't run into each other, they don't miss their their turns and they always wind up precisely where they want to be, all while still going through the current manuscript. Foolish guests have learned long ago not to even try walking through such busy sections, as the Scholars move so quickly and tightly that you would be crushed and no one would even stop to notice.

While they convert information into Black Bile crystals, the other major duty they have is researching into purer strains of such structures. Black Bile can only hold so much depending on its purity, design and density. Crude crystals are good for holding maybe a few pages, while the finer stuff can hold multiple books worth within. But we are talking thousands of tomes and scrolls, and information that is in the mind rather than the page. Even when they seek to condense it all, the result calls for so much Black Bile and such big spires that it adds a new impracticality to it. Their special carved slabs can contain a lifetime's worth of knowledge, but it isn't good enough. Thus they must continue in their research to find better designs for these archival crystals, all while dealing with a ceaseless flow of new information to sift through. Yet they soldier on, even more so now that the war has broken out. Because now this preservation has become more crucial than ever before...

When the civil war within the Church grew beyond brief skirmishes and protests, the Towering Archives of Akavedah quietly closed their doors and fortified their walls. Without declaration, they divested themselves from this violence, as such war of emotions was pure nonsense to them. They would not take part in such idiotic fighting, it went against all logic. Instead, they would follow the belief they had held since the beginning: knowledge must be preserved at all cost. Thus the walls must be impenetrable, the gates sealed tight and those within ready to fight off any invaders. The knowledge within these spires is priceless, and the war has already destroyed so much. Thankfully, the Church had equipped the Towering Archives with incredible defenses, fearing this day as well. Unfortunately, the Church didn't imagine their Scholars using these very same weapons against them. Because in a great war of many factions and countless foes, the Scholars have no choice but to see everyone as an invader. Anyone capable of scaling their walls or sneaking in will be treated as an enemy, and the soldiers of this great colony will make short work of them.

While the world burns down outside their walls, the Scholars work even faster than ever before. Their devotion to the cause has become obsession. Protect the knowledge and ensure its survival. This has practically turned them into the very insects they adore, as they go about with an almost mindless sense of duty. Protecting, converting, condensing. All of it done for their new ultimate goal: the Microcosmic Star. A theoretical form of pure Black Bile crystal that has been refined and constructed in such a perfect way that all the knowledge of the world could fit in a obsidian jewel that could sit in your hand. Achieving such a perfect condensed state seems utterly impossible, as the Scholars have come nowhere close to even a fraction of such a thing. Yet, their research and theories claim that it can be done, and thus they work for this great belief. Before the war broke out, they wanted to create such a thing to make the archives portable and thus everlasting. With only a few of these black stars, the information of all civilization would be preserved forever, able to be transfered to all. But now, as the war rages on and society crumbles around them, the Microcosmic Star has become the final word of all of humanity. For the Scholars wish to create these jewels and launch them into the cosmos, where the entire record of mankind can survive as all perish in this doomed world. Knowledge must be preserved at all cost, and that is what they will do.

However, for the people still very much alive and fighting for this maddened land, they would really prefer if the Scholars didn't act like they were already dead.

--------------------------

"Scholars of the Towering Archives"

Another pillar of the Church revealed! Termite inspired mages who love reading! And I will say right off the bat: yeah, I don't have all the castes drawn up yet. So you'll be waiting a bit for the full line up! It is just that I can't hold this back any longer!

[dndwithray]

Fans of DnD Rangers and the game Roadwarden, behold! I've put together a subclass of DnD 5e's Ranger and built it around the main character from the text-based adventure Roadwarden. Like the game, this subclass provides a lot of freedom in "forging your own path" as you get to decide when and where you gain certain class features along with what to do with said abilities once they're in your hand.

[wolpromptaday]

#FFXIV #WOLpromptAday

FEBRUARY 11, 2025

(Raise)

(Do you have it?)

(Can I have it?)

(Flag)

How does your WOL ask for help? Do they Shout? Yell? Call their Linkshell and/or Free Company? What happens when no help arrives? Do they ever answer that call?

[mosthuggableffxiv]

Most Huggable Job Trainer (Healer)

By popular request, I have separated out A-Ruhn-Senna and Raya-O-Senna, even though that means that almost half of the options are White Mage-specific.

[zeloinator]

my attempt at a Charlie's Angels type poster featuring all my rejoined shards of Azem!

All extremely important to Zee's Echo Lore; which is that Zee was kept "safe" from the Echo growing up in her isolated and secret village due to multiple factors but mostly their ancient magic cloaking field they maintain. BUT when Zee left she got her Echo and it came with memories of rejoined lives (specifically rejoined she does not get memories from any non-rejoined but still dead shards but Ardbert was able to haunt her in his world with some assistance from this echo headcanon stuff) in the form of dreams. Zee has not had a real actual dream (or nightmare) since she left home. So these are all familiar faces for her as well, pieces of her now they have rejoined. (Zee's aether limits being way to much for her body to handle comes from her aether limits technically being that of 8 people (with herself included))

(From left to right-ish, rainbow color order) Red color scheme; Ophelia Lark; The Sixth, Ice (5th) Umbral Calamity Orange color scheme; Ulla Ajlla; The Second, FIre (3rd) Umbral Calamity Light green color scheme; Pimelle; The Twelfth, Lightning (2nd) Umbral Calamity Dark Green color scheme; Vesna Natyach; The Fifth, Wind (1st) Umbral Calamity Blue color scheme; Yakiki Yaki; The Tenth, Water (6th) Umbral Calamity Cool Purple color scheme; Deja Du'yu'un; The Third, Earth (4th) Umbral Calamity Warm Purple color Scheme; Nergui, The Seventh, Darkness (7th) Umbral Calamity

Zee's canon Endsinger party (minus Ardbert) all together in one photo!

[aeronharvae]