#and then channeling aether through it for healing bullets

[sparrowsong-7]

FFXIV Write Day 30: Two Heads Are Better Than One

It was startling how quickly they had adapted to fighting together. Mel could have easily skipped back into her old habits, slinging bullets and grenades like a one woman army. Likewise, it would have made sense for Corin to slip back onto the sidelines, dedicating herself to healing, never fighting. But now?

Things were different now.

Corin leapt into the fray, catching Ayami’s scythe with a well timed barrier, gritting her teeth and they clashed. Mel was right behind her, reinforcing the barrier with her magitek shield.

“Selene!” Corin shouted over the chaos. The fairy materialized and, with a quick nod, took over maintaining the barrier. She put a hand on Mels shoulder and planted her cane into the dirt, giving a small chuckle. “Count of three?” she asked.

Mel smirked, “Sure, that’ll work”

“One!”

The barrier cracked.

“Two!”

Ayami’s scythe pierced through.

“Three!”

Corin grabbed Mel by the waist and flung the both of them into the air, straight past their opponent. As they passed, Ayami’s eyes widened, stumbling as her attack whiffed. Behind her Crescent attempted to manifest for an attack, only to be stopped dead in their tracks.

“Oh no you don’t!” Corin cried out, summoning chains of light to bind the ghostly figure. As the chains wrapped around them, Mel shot past, slamming her shield into Ayami before she had a chance to fully recover. Her opponent attempted to strike out with a clawed hand only to be blocked effortlessly as Mel advanced on her. 

“Come on babe” Mel taunted, “You’re gonna have to do better than that!” She rushed, ducking under Ayami’s retaliatory swing and attempted to slip her blade against Ayami’s neck, only to be repelled as Crescent broke free, ready for round two.

“Ayami!” they shouted as they gave the two of them some distance. 

Ayami nodded as Crescent bonded with her, engulfing them in a torrent of shadow. “You haven’t won yet!” she shouted, charging forward now fully enshrouded. She dashed past Mel and made for Corin, intent on taking down the healer first. “Sorry about this Corin!” she grunted, bringing her scythe down on-

Nothing…

Corin slipped right by her on a trail of aetherial paint.

“How in the!?” Ayami exclaimed as she felt a hail of magic and bullets strike her in the back, “Fuck!”

Corin giggled, taking her place next to Mel as she shook her brush off. Ayami was strong, but she lacked situational awareness now that she and Crescent were merged, something Mel and Corin were capitalizing on. Two heads really were better than one as they danced effortlessly around Ayami’s attacks, covering for each other's weaknesses and blind spots. As Ayami tired,  Corin saw an opening, nodding to Mel and pulling her cane from the ground where she left it. Mel gave a small nod in return and sheathed her weapons, closing her eyes and extending her hand for Corin to channel into. She ignored the fact that Ayami closed in, intent on winning the duel. She ignored the wind, the dirt, the sweat on her brow…

She ignored everything but Corin.

Mel reared back, winding up a strike as her aethercell gauntlet crackled white with her and Corin’s aether. She ducked to the left, dodging Ayami’s strike and planting a blow on her shoulder as she passed. The aether stored in the gauntlet exploded outward, sending Ayami tumbling backwards from the force of it. 

Mel straightened herself and leaned against Corin, a smile growing on her face.

“We win.”

[the-endless-traveler]

The World Outside

How long since I ever stepped outside that dome? Thirty years, and I counted them. It's a short lifespan for a Viera like me, but there was people on the other side that I wanted to see again. See if they remember me, or if they will be shocked by what I have become. After all, I spent thirty years in the strange new world I ended in...

It all started after I got my permit and headed to Shaaloani. Nothing too unusual for a Sage of Sharlayan that was looking for the history of her clan, even if two thousand years have passed from their exile from Tural to the deadly jungle of Golmore. I expected to find anything that would retrace the origins of my combat style to the Vipers of Tural, and Yyasulani was where the Shetona lived... Some of them at least. The last area I would scout out for my own goals... Then that thing happened.

The thing is that dome. It appeared out of nowhere while I was in a village to get some rest, and all of a sudden the entire world got warped into something different. It wasn't any form of Allagan technology, and it wasn't anything made by Sharlayan either, and many of the people I was with died during the sudden attack that followed our shift to this unknown place. Damned be those... things. Humanoid, soulless machines made entirely for war attacked us as soon as we appeared her, killing many villagers and exhausting my Aether to keep the rest alive and protect them with the other fighters who got caught. Others died by the sudden levinstorm that fell from the darkened sky, or because the area got destroyed enough they got claimed by nature itself. What a joke... and what was that weird place anyway?

I decided to explore the entire area on my own after a few days, trying to find a refuge for the few survivors under my care. I couldn't abandon them, not after I fought for them, after all. Of course, the ground decided to fall under me when I was exploring and I fell into a geyser of raw levin. The raw aether coursed through my body and I only remember falling to the ground after the surge of lightning only evoked pain beyond measure and a feminine voice.

Queen Sphene. A kindhearted woman who pulled me off the geyser and healed me with the curious technology they have in Solution Nine, the electrope. I wasn't dead, but they had to isolate my entire body for the sources of levin they used to mend my wounds, and according to the medical staff, my Aether was definitely imbalanced towards Lightning with no chances to recover it. This is where she offered me to easemy pain with a regulator, a headpiece that would help balance everything and ensured my chances of living. Did I consumed souls during my time recovery, I don't know, but I accepted her offer. I learned later what regulators could do and refused to use any souls... But they were an useful addition into a world I never knew. Then... the truth happened.

I learned to hunt and to work for my share of life with my new abilities. Electrope was a breeze to master, and my flow of Aether opened my body to new techniques. To hell with my legacy, if I was to be stuck here it would be better to defend myself and the people, rather than to seek a past that was probably taken by the dome. I made multiple weapons and finally, my trusted gunblade came through as the perfect addition to my new life. I knew those weapons would channel Aether into bullets, and I would channel Lightning instead, but that was serviceable for two years. I was with another hunter who died in the work and I brought them back to the Outskirts. The body was taken care of and I left to make a grave where he fell as a reminder when the regulator activated itself. I was wondering why I was here, and the half-grave I built had a name. The regulator reactivated but nothing would make me forget who my friend was. I had nothing but anger in my mind and I returned to Solution Nine, locking myself within the home I secured for one, single task: break the regulator.

I made it. I hacked this piece of hell and ripped it off its main functions, and it took me only three years. It was now a database, a way to never forget anything I ever live, and despite my obsession, I made a few friends in Solution Nine who would see me for my skills with electrope. I went from hunting at full time to hunting when I was needed, and making weapons for the hunters who needed help... And if someone wanted to have access to forbidden knowledge, I could help. Oblivion, the resistance, tried to rope me into their ideas, too. I didn't accepted, but I didn't refused to help them either... I just wanted to be by myself for a while.

I... wished I had a way to get out. Then the Vanguard happened and I saw my chances to leave. Not because I hated Solution Nine or Neo-Alexandria, but because I had friends outside the dome, people I cared about.

And thirty years passed.

[the-manderville-mambo]

Consider: charm bracelet with all your soul crystals dangling from it

how do soulstones in ffxiv actually work. like is there an unspoken slot in every outfit in the game that can fit a soulstone and you pop them in and out like candy. do they automatically give you powers just by being in your pocket. by having both red mage and machinist in his inventory is rigel therefore both at once. how does he change between them. is it as simple as the difference between holding a gun and holding a magic sword and the corresponding stone just magically conveniently resonates with whatever weapon he's holding at any given time or what

[endangered-liaison]

Safety First

"Test one."

Wyda tries not to think about the fact that doing a series of experiments on her aether is what got her into this mess to begin with.

She's being smarter about it, this time.

She's in the Bellworks testing room, with all the reinforcements that would imply. The room's been able to deal with aetherically-charged bullets and, at one point, a portable cannon that Wyda still isn't sure how anyone authorised to test in a company that, as a rule, does not produce weaponry.

She finishes winding the hand-wraps around her fingertips and flexes them experimentally. Okay. Not exactly armoured, but she doesn’t want her hands covered to affect the results of her tests. This, and the bracers on her wrists, is the compromise.

"Shirina - you ready?"

Shirina barely nods from behind the reinforced glass viewing area, her eyes intently focused on the targeting dummy across the room, pencil at the ready. "On your mark."

Okay.

Here we go.

"Hyrt, you ready?"

You can do this. It's just like any other spellcast.

That doesn't exactly reassure her.

Wyda lifts the helmet she'd worn into combat during the Gyr Abanian campaign. It was never the most elegant thing in the world, but...it saw her through a lot. Her right index finger traces over the scar a bullet left across one side of the helmet's surface, an ugly reminder beneath Em's ring.

She pulls the helmet on, fitting it snugly over her eyes and trying to breathe steadily.

Safety equipment suits you. It really accentuates your lips.

Wyda rolls her eye. "Hyrt."

Right. Shutting up now.

She steps forwards, raising her thaumaturge's staff. She doesn't know if it's the right tool for the job, honestly, but...it feels sensible to start by trying to channel through a focus.

She focuses on channelling her aether through the focus at the tip of the staff, focusing on casting...she isn't sure what. For all of Hyrt's advice about releasing this power within her, she's freely admitted to not having a clue how that power will actually manifest.

That's something we'll have to find out together, she'd said. Well...now is the time for finding out, Wyda supposes.

Screw it. She'll try to cast Thunder, and see what happens. Just a low-power version - a Thaumaturge's staple, nothing like the Mhachi spells she'd been pushing herself to cast. Nothing dangerous to herself.

She focuses, points the staff forwards...and a bolt sparks across the chamber, striking the dummy and sparking over its metalwork.

She casts again.

Then a third time, until she can start to feel the strain on her aether. There it is. Low aetheric reserves, just like always. She lowers her staff, sighing.

"Huh. That was...remarkably normal."

Well, good to see you can still use your aether to cast normal spells. I'd wondered about that, admittedly.

She pulls a bottle of ether from her leather jacket's pocket, uncorking it and taking a swig as she glances towards Shirina.

"It isss good to sssee you can ssstill ussse your aether."

Wyda pauses, staring at Shirina and then sending a silent question towards Hyrt.

Hey, it was a worry. If she was worried about it too it just shows how good she is at her job. Or how smart I am. Or both.

"Aye, I suppose." Wyda nods as Shirina's focus shifts back to the notes she's taking. "Oh, can you make a note for us to test healing magicks at some point? Those tend to rely on neutral or light-aspected aether." She really, really hopes this hasn't impacted her healing abilities. That was the only thing she was ever any good at when it comes to spellcasting.

"Consssider it noted." Shirina doesn't even look up from her writing, all professionalism. Wyda nods to herself before corking the bottle and slipping it back into her pocket.

"Test two, then?"

Shirina nods, and she feels a vague affirmation in her mind from Hyrt.

Wyda steps forwards. One step, two. She swings her staff behind her, raising her left hand and waiting to feel the telltale thrumming of her aether before she casts a Ruin spell. She has the geometry on paper, stuffed up her left sleeve. Obviously.

She and Brave still haven't figured out when to get those tattoos.

Maybe she should redesign hers - something less reckless than her old shield geometry.

The Ruin blasts from her fingertips so unexpectedly she barely notices it until it slams into the target dummy.

She frowns, focusing and releasing another Ruin. It...looks a little different, she thinks? Ruin is meant to be unaspected, so surely it should reflect any changes in her aether. Surely she should be able to see - to understand.

Another cast. Another. Another.

Wyda.

There's nothing there. It's the same as it ever was. Another. There has to be something. Another. She can't just be the same, Hyrt said-- she trusts Hyrt, damn it, she can't be wrong about this!

Wyda, stop!

She stops, gasping for breath.

"Missss Hyrtwyda, isss everything alright?"

Wyda raises a finger, catching her breath. She just needs a second.

This isn't doing anything but exhausting you. Hyrt offers, softly. And at this point, I think it's safe to say that you can cast normal spells the same as you ever could. No changes, no ill effects, no spikes of dark destruction.

"What do you suggest, then?" She growls, ignoring the confused (and slightly alarmed) look Shirina sends her way.

We need to try something different. But I'm not sure what. I know only as much as you could, and that's...not much, right now.

Wyda waits, patiently. She's heard her own thought processes often enough to recognise the same in Hyrt's voice right now.

The darkness that's awakened within you. It's...both literal and metaphorical. Hyrt begins, cautiously. Literal darkness, polarized aether - so an attempt to cast a spell polarized to darkness, like the inverse of a healing spell, might have some effect. But also, metaphorical darkness. Your thoughts and desires and wants. I know you've been noticing them.

Wyda closes her eye, grits her teeth. She doesn't need to talk about that right now. Not with Hyrt. Not with anyone. She's fine. Everything's fine.

Embracing them, thinking about them...that might be enough to unleash the metaphorical darkness, and make it manifest literally. Might be enough to purge your body of that which has been building in your veins. She falls silent for a few seconds, considering her next words. Acting upon them might do the same. I don't know.

And just for a second, Wyda's traitorous mind considers it.

A shudder runs down her spine, and she shakes the thought off.

"You know that's a stupid thing to suggest."

I know. But lying to you about the possibilities wouldn't help us. I don't want to lie to you, and so I have to acknowledge the possibility.

Wyda takes a slow breath. "...I appreciate it."

"Missss Hyrtwyda?"

Wyda finally looks over at Shirina again, who looks like she's weighing up the pros and cons between calling for backup or politely slapping Wyda in the face to snap her out of this.

...The latter of those doesn't sound too bad, honestly.

"Sorry. I'm okay. Just had a minor disagreement with...myself." She's aware that that doesn't sound particularly fine. "I have one more idea for today, but I think we should probably call it after that."

Shirina's face shifts into even more of an alarmed look. "I think we ssshould probably call it now, Missss Hyrtwyda."

"One idea. I promise." Wyda raises her helmet to give Shirina a pleading, soft look. "I'm sorry that I worried you, but I had to work some things out."

Shirina sighs and crosses her arms. "Fine. But I am including thisss exchange in the report for Chief Horizon."

Wyda nods in agreement and pulls her mask back down. "That's fair. But I promise it will be okay."

Don't make promises you can't keep, Wyda.

She doesn't answer that particular jab. She just takes a step back, gauging the distance to the striking dummy.

"Test three."

She lifts her staff for a moment, then stops. Lowers it, and raises her left hand.

She breathes, slow and steady.

"Literal and metaphorical, aye?"

Aye. Literal and metaphorical.

"Sounds simple enough."

She closes her eye, and focuses within herself.

She feels for...a spark of darkness. For a void. An abyss. For anything.

But she doesn't feel it. There's nothing, but...not in any sense of Voids. There's just nothing there to sense.

But perhaps...

She focuses on what Hyrt had suggested. Literal darkness. Okay. If she inverts a cure spell, the aetherological effects would be...right. Okay. She can do this. It's all aetheric theory, and she is damned good at aetheric theory.

She shifts the casting parameters. Alters the motions of the hand, inverts them, like writing upside-down. She goes to call upon the aether in the air, then hesitates. No. Don't call upon the land, nor on the elementals. Call upon--

there

Wyda gasps and feels her fumbling, probing mind push against the Abyss.

It's there. She can feel it now.

How could she not have felt it before? The darkness inside her. It feels like something that's always been there, something so old she couldn't even notice it. Invisible until she pushed against it and felt the resistance. Vast and powerful and nebulous.

She grits her teeth, opening her eye and trying to tap into the darkness. But it doesn't shift. She turns her fingers, focusing on the target, but nothing happens. How can she possibly hope to vent this power, to purge it from herself? It doesn't respond to her, not like the aether of the land is supposed to when casting a spell.

Not that she's ever been any good at that, either.

She almost laughs against the strain she's feeling. Of course. Of course she'd be bad at this, too! She's a mage whose talents for magic have never come naturally. They've always been fought for tooth and nail, and they've always cost her nails and teeth.

Why would this be any different?

She's worthless. Useless. A worthless healer who might not even be able to heal any more, whose every attempt to improve simply hurts herself and those around--

Something thrums within her.

A sigil appears, dark and angular, around her arm. No. Not a sigil. A geometry. She almost laughs. Of course she'd still end up making geometries with her inner darkness. That sounds so hilariously like her.

But nothing else happens. The geometry remains, the power is there...but she still can't unleash it. It pushes at the edges of her aether, but it doesn't shift that final nock it needs to pour out of her.

As much as I commend the full dive into your own self-loathing as a method of harnessing your powers, might I suggest something else right now?

She grits her teeth. Fine. She'll listen. It's not like she's getting anywhere like this, anyroad.

You are a brilliant young woman, Wyda.

The words are close to her ear, murmured with care and reverence. They make her gasp, and the geometries flicker and twist around her hand.

You have come so far. And yes, you have made mistakes. You have faltered. But we are yet young. You have so much life left in you. So much passion. Hyrt's voice is soft and affectionate - amused, almost. You can do this. So reach out. Reach out, and feel my presence. Feel it as it is.

She feels the abyss inside her.

She feels her inner darkness.

It feels warm.

Shadow explodes out of her hand, shocking Wyda back into the present moment. Back into the here and the now, to the experiments and the bright lighting of the testing area.

Shards of wood and metal rip free from the front of the striking dummy. Rippling, sharp aether, all red and black and purple and darkness, tear it apart like it's paper.

One of the fragments of wood bounces off her helmet.

Wyda stares, wide-eyed.

She looks over at Shirina, who isn't writing anything down any more. She's just staring at the results of the experiment, brow furrowed.

She...she did it?

"I did it!"

Wyda can feel the amusement in Hyrt when she speaks.

Told ya.