#mogfire faire

[mognetfc]

Amaeris & Goya on a vacation of sorts

A forced vacation. Forced by the Scions. Forced even by her own brother, who accompanied her now, riding the steed next to her own. As he joyfully chatted with their elderly Oroniri guide, Amaeris couldn`t help but wonder how she could take a relaxing vacation when she didn`t even want one.

But here they were, traversing the Steppe on horseback, headed toward the Dawn Throne rising in the center of the plain. Goya had planned out their entire week-long vacation. They had taken the aetheryte to Reunion, but that was the extent of their teleporting. In the market, they had been greeted by an elderly man adorned in the colors of the Oronir. She remembered him, from the first time she had been in the Steppe with Lyse and Hien. An elder who remembered her mother. Her birth mother, who died giving Amaeris life.

“Ama.” Her name drew her from her thoughts. Pale eyes turned to meet ones very much the same. “You okay?”

With a dismissing wave of the hand, Amaeris closed her eyes, turning away. “I`m fine. Why did you drag me all the way out here?”

Her question was met with laughter. “Well, we were kinda in a rush the last time we were here. I thought we should learn more about where we came from.” Oh how wonderful. How she wished one of the beast tribes of Aldenard would summon their Primal so that she could be called back home to destroy it.

“You came from Doma, I came from La Noscea. Done. Let`s go home.” Another laugh from Goya. It earned an annoyed sigh from his sister, but she followed along anyway. The Dawn Throne was already looming closer, blotting out the sun.

It wasn`t much longer before they reached the base. They left their horses there and made their way to the top.

They stayed at the Dawn Throne for two days, hearing stories about their mother, and rumors about their father. To have one of their own, a betrothed woman of the Oronir, run off with an exiled Qestiri, was a disgrace. There were no few rumors and tales of the two. The siblings also learned more of the culture, albeit Oroniri-centric. It took some time, but even Amaeris began to listen intently.

Dawn of the third day, they made their farewells and departed, heading south. Skirting around Dotharl Khaa, making their way through the mountain tunnel into Yanxia. Into Doma. This was a place Amaeris had been in recently, dealing with issues and helping to rebuild.

But they did not go into the House of the Fierce, nor did they make their way to the Enclave. No, Goya was leading her elsewhere. South, to the ferry docks. Then across the water to the manor, and off toward the side. Amaeris watched her brother carefully, his expression having hardened. Saddened, almost.

They walked in silence. All around them were remnants of the occupation. Rubble. Burnt wood. Sections of stone wall barely standing. A small cluster of old buildings, or what remained of the foundations.

She almost walked straight into her brother`s back. He had stopped in his tracks. She peered around him. Before them was the remains of one of the buildings. Small, with only three rooms that she could see. Perhaps once having had a second story. Now, what remained of the walls barely reached her chest. Pale eyes moved from the ruins to her brother`s face, and something squeezed at her heart. “Is this… where you grew up?”

The only answer Goya gave was a slight nod as he stepped through what was once the front entrance. He moved slowly, like a ghost. Amaeris knew how this must affect him. His childhood home, before the Garleans took everything away from him. But she let him move through the house, watching as he occasionally leaned down to pick up something, only to drop it back to the ground.

As night began to fall, however, she went to him. A gentle hand on his arm, a gentle voice in the silence. “Goya? Are you alright?”

He turned to her, a soft, sad smile on his lips. “Sorry. I didn`t mean to worry you. I was just… remembering things.” He sniffed, breathing deep, and forced a more cheerful smile as he stepped out of the ruined lot. “Okay! To the Enclave! We`ll spend the night there, then head back to the other side of the world. One more place to go.” With a nod, he started toward the ferry. It was well after the sun had set when they arrived in the nearly thriving settlement.

The following morning, the two used the aetherytes to return to Aldenard, arriving in Ishgard. Unsure where they would be going, Amaeris followed her brother to the airship landing. He spoke with the attendant for a few moments before they were pointed toward a waiting airship. Boarding, she gave Goya a strange look. He seemed almost… giddy.

The ship took them… to Azys Lla, she realized as they pushed through the opening in the barrier. Queue another strange look in her brother`s direction.

Goya spoke with the pilot, directing the man toward a particular section of the Allagan zone. They touched down, and walked a bit of a ways.

And she suddenly recalled this place. It was a bit different, but there were still signs of former Garlean presence. Blinking, she looked up at her brother. “This is…”

“Yep! This is where we first met.” He had a wide grin on his face as she stepped forward. Then he, too, looked out over the area. Once there had been a massive Garlean ship tethered to this island, but it had since returned home, carrying the remnants of the legion and the body of their legatus. And there… that spot there was where he and Amaeris had met.

A fierce battle. Soldiers being taken down one after another, all by what appeared to be a lone woman with black scales and fierce eyes. More soldiers hurried forward, intent on finally stopping her. Whatever she was after, they didn`t know. But Goya was going to follow his orders and stop her. He shot, one after another, grazing her shoulder and cheek. But she closed the gap, and he pulled out his dagger to fight back. It was knocked from his hand, clattering to the ground. He was pushed backward, helmet flying off, a sword at his throat. His own eyes stared up at him. The same eyes… the same hair… the same scales… even the same freckles there on her cheeks.

And a voice. A man`s voice, calling his name. “Goya?” A roegadyn. A face from his memory. A friend of his murdered parents. Another who had abandoned him.

It had been a strange first meeting. Nearly being killed by his own sister. But it had ended well, the two close.

“Goya.”

Amaeris returned to her brother`s side, a hint of a smile on her lips. She gave him a nod, and a quiet “Thank you.”

“I take it you enjoyed your vacation.”

Her smile fell, though one side of her mouth curved upward as she rolled her eyes. “I`m still annoyed that you forced me to take one. But… yes. I did.” She struggled as her brother`s arms wrapped around her, squeezing her tight and lifting her off her feet. It wasn`t difficult to push herself out of his hug, but he was persistent, laughing at her struggles. Eventually, though, she, too, fell into laughter, and they held one another like that for some time.

[mognetfc]

*boss ass bitch plays in the background* -amaeris karaslin (feat. katsuki bakugo)

[mognetfc]

The Ballad of Glybhwyn Porkeater

It was a bright and sunny day on the shores of Costa del Sol, and Caelestis “Cael” Tennyo was determined to make the most of it. She had a freshly-mixed drink in one hand, her favorite book in the other, and the rolanberry on top - eye candy. She watched as, off in the distance, her new beau Ganzorig shimmied and jumped his way up the towering Nimble Warrior course. Even from hundreds of fulms away she could see the sweat glistening on the Xaela man’s brow as he wiped it with exhaustion, on his chest as he heaved from the exertion, on his legs as he trampled on the hands of his competition... it was enough to-

splat

With a grimace she was pulled from her reverie by an unexpected present from a passing seagull on her leg. Inwardly cursing the feathered sky-demon, she cleaned up the mess and looked up to see Ganzorig waving from the top of the tower. ‘He’s so cute when he’s enervated,’ she swooned, turning back to her book.

A few minutes later, Cael was so deeply engrossed by the drama unfolding in the pages of her novel that she was startled by the sound of Ganzorig heavily flopping onto the beach chair next to her. He heaved as he held up two tickets to half-off brunch at the Flying Shark Cafe. “Hopefully this is worth all the splinters,” he grumbled in that endearing way of his. Cael excitedly took the coupons, stuck them into her novel as bookmarks, and congratulated her boo on a job well-done.

“You must be hungry after all that shimmying,” she whispered into his horn, “want to have dinner at the Missing Member?”

“I’m so hungry I could eat a boar,” he sighed in response.

Cael chuckled, “Not on Vylbrand you won’t!”

Ganzorig raised a silver eyebrow. “And why is that?” As a man born and raised on the Azim Steppe, La Noscea’s apparent obsession with seafood baffled him at times, and he wondered what sort of pork-discriminating law had been passed in the bloody history of the thassalocracy.

“Why, because of Glybhwyn Porkeater, of course!”

Bright yellow eyes blinked in bewilderment. “Come again?”

Cael chuckled and passed Ganzorig a bottle of rum. “Crack this open and I’ll tell ye the greatest story off the coast of Aldenard.”

Concerned about the sudden shift in Cael’s articulation, Ganzorig nevertheless did as he was told and took a deep swig of the liquor as the Midlander began her story.

“It all began many, many moons ago... Not sure how many, to be exact. There are varying reports; some say it was decades ago while some say it was as recently as this season. Anyways! There was a Roegadyn man named Glybhwyn.”

“Is that a real name?” Ganzorig asked, knowing it was far from the most important question to be raised here.

“Of course it is,” Cael responded, “the harder a Sea Wolf name is to spell and pronounce, the more legitimate it is.”

Shrugging in agreement, Ganzorig took another sip of his drink as Cael continued.

“Glybhwyn, like many Roegadyn men of his age, was a fisher. But unlike so many of his peers, Glybhwyn had no love for the taste of the fish caught in the sea. No, his true love was for the fish of the land... pork.”

Somewhat disturbed by the passionate tone with which she said that last word, the Xaela took another mouthful of his rum, desperate for the intoxicating effect to kick in but fearing it never would. Cael took no notice either way and continued on.

“However, because the haul of seafood was so plentiful, and the boars so dangerous and hard to hunt, most inns and taverns of La Noscea didn’t keep pork-based meals on the menu. So good ol’ Glybhwyn, he begins to go out and hunt his own meat, bringing the bounty to the tavernkeeps to cook up for him. But, as you know, Roegadyn men have quite an appetite, and before anyone realized it Glybhwyn had hunted all the boars on the island of Vylbrand to extinction. And that’s the story of Glybhwyn Porkeater!”

Gulping down the last draught of his drink, and disappointed at the lack of anything more than a slight buzz, Ganzorig threw the empty bottle farther down the coast where it was immediately inhabited by a family of hermit crabs. “Cael?”

“Yes, prickly-pie?”

“I think you’ve been out in the sun too long.”

[mognetfc]

Sand, Sea, Fireworks & Friends

Summer has always been about rest and relaxation with friends. For the Moonfaire Festival, I wanted to find the most comfortable spot to catch the show with my very best companion, Captain Picklepaws.

Erys

[mognetfc]

The Worrier of Light’s Not-Vacation

[mognetfc]

[mognetfc]

Haruto’s Descent

The sun was shining high in the sky over Costa Del Sol, the festivities in full swing as a red and black haired miqo'te was perched precariously upon a small peg, a valiant, if somewhat nervous, grin on his face as he looked off to see the next spot he needed to jump to. This was Haruto Youta, one of the Scions and conquerer of Towers no matter what they may be! Okay so that last title was made up. He was just stubborn and had been challenged to climb the newly constructed tower in Costa Del Sol by one of his friends. He stuck his tongue out at Amaeris as he turned back to the peg in question. He crouched down before he sprung forward, an audible 'Hup!' could be heard as he poucned onto the next peg, his arms windmilling around as he steadied himself. After teetering for a second he managed to regain his footing before he stared at the laughably thin plank he was to jump out to in order to ascend to the next level. Still, he had made it past the other three parts. He wasn't about to be done in by awkwardly placed jumping locations!...though he still wondered how the Cascadiers managed to get this thing put together. 

He presumed that the lecherous owner of Costa Del Sol, a Lalafell by the name of Gegeruju who enjoyed 'observing' the scantily clad ladies of his beaches frolick about, had taken care of any issues that had cropped up solely so he would get more to look at. Granted, out of all the male Lalafells he had come across, he wasn't the worst. Dark memories of that day flicked to the forefront of his mind before he shook them away. Teledji Adaledji had paid for his greed, it wouldn't do to keep brooding over it. Once more he crouched and jumped out towards the thin plank. Just when he thought he was safe however, a stiff breeze happened to blow just then. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" A resounding splash would be seen as Haruto practically faceplanted into the water. Several sounds of equal parts cheer and booing could be heard as he floated seemingly lifeless back up to the surface of the water. Truth be told he was perfectly fine. Sure the water had stung when he hit it but that was about the only thing that was hurting. That and his pride. The Kojin blessing would allow him to just lay there for a moment as he gathered his wits about him before he started to furious swim back to the base of the tower. "AUUUUUUUUUUUUGH!" Haruto let out a shout as he sprinted to the tower, eager to try to climb the tower entirely.

Unfortunately, Haruto never succeeded in climbing the tower.

[mognetfc]

Sparkly Summer

Unfortunately for Roluk of Deepestglade, he had a busy summer.  Not the kind of busy summer that involves vacations and sun tans, but the kind of summer that requires the Warrior of Light to put his neck on the line once again. While preparing to enjoy the sights and sounds of the Moonfire Faire, a knock came at his door. At the door was a beautiful young teenage girl named Eiko.

She explained that Kan-E-Senna had given her his address, as she recognized the urgency of the situation that Eiko was facing. Eiko explained that she is a summoner, and that Carbuncle, one of her dearest friends from the time she was a little girl - had been missing for several weeks. Every attempt to summon Carbuncle had been unsuccessful. She hoped that Roluk knew someone or someway or something that could help.

Roluk took Eiko to the scions, and with the help of Urianger (through means and methods that are outside of the scope of this short story), they were able to locate Carbuncle - and a means to travel to it’s location.

Roluk and Eiko (along with a team of skilled adventurer friends and some ingenuity from Cid Highwind) were able to use the power of aether crystals to transport themselves to the realm of Crystal, home of Carbuncle.  They soon discovered that the Carbuncle that Eiko knew and loved was but one of many - a family of similar creatures that each chose a different realm of existence to appear and provide aid for those heroic enough to deserve it, typically through the power of a summoner. All of these Carbuncle creatures appeared to be imprisoned by some sort of similar race of beings. These creatures looked like Carbuncles, but instead of appearing brightly colored and sparkly, these creatures appeared dark, flat, and smoky. They were later to learn that these creatures were the dark and evil equivalent of the Noble Carbuncles, as all power in this realm seems to be balanced. For lack of a better term, the scions have taken to refer to them as “Dark Carbuncles”. 

Roluk and his band of adventurers took on these creatures, in typical fashion, hoping to at least distract them long enough for Cid and Eiko to release the Carbuncles.  Unfortunately for all involved, Roluk and his companions were not prepared for a fight in this realm and were quickly overwhelmed by the Dark Carbuncles. Miraculously, Cid and Eiko were able to break free one of the Carbuncles - the very one that Eiko recognized as pertaining to her realm - the friend she had known since a child.

When it seemed that all was lost, this Carbuncle stepped in to save the day, sacrificing itself into pure, raw aetheric energy - and then implanting this energy into the Warrior of Light and his companions to give them the power necessary to fight on the same level as the Dark Carbuncles. Power previously unknown coursed through their veins for the time that they were once again fighting these strange smokey creatures. 

As soon as it was clear that the adventurers would prevail, the Dark Carbuncles vanished into smoke - and were not seen again.  The Noble Carbuncles were saved, but at no small cost. The sacrifice of Eiko’s Carbuncle was commemorated before the adventurers departed the realm.  Oddly enough, the other Carbuncles were not particularly sorrowful. When the adventurers attempted to get some sort of explanation from the creatures, they simply would not respond.  The assumption was that perhaps mourning customs for this creatures are different than what they would expect.

 As soon as the team made it back into their home realm, the power that they had been graced with immediately vanished, only leaving behind strange, bright, tattoo-like markings on their skin. (If you look at the most recent picture of Roluk, submitted as part of this contest, you can see this mark on the side of his cheek).  The scions are convinced that this power did not just cease to exist - from what Urianger has been able to discover, as soon as the adventurers re-entered this realm, the energy migrated away in a central direction through multiple realms of existence.  That is to say, they know that the power has coalesced into one singular mass - they simply have not yet discovered where.  The prevailing hope is that Carbuncle found some way to regather it’s energy in some way.  Perhaps aetheric energy cannot be destroyed, only converted. This would also explain the odd behavior of the Noble Carbuncles when commemorating the sacrifice.  The scions are currently working on finding a way to isolate the coalesced energy and attempting to summon it into this realm once again.

As for Roluk, he is trying to enjoy the little bit of summer that he has left, he managed to catch one of the last fireworks displays of the season - see the pic that someone managed to snap of him enjoying his time off.  As much as he enjoys the relaxation, he finds his thoughts wandering to Carbuncle, and the strange Tatoo on his cheek, and the memory of the pure, raw, holy power that coursed through his veins while in the realm of the Carbuncles.  When it is all said it done, it seems Roluk wouldn’t have preferred to spend his summer any other way.  

:)

[mognetfc]

With our Mogfire Faire event coming to a close, it’s time for the most exciting of times- To judge our weeklong FC contests! We had two contests for our Moonfire Faire events, a writing contest and a screenshots contest! 

For the Mognet Stories in the Sun contest, entrants had to write about what their characters dream vacation would be!

For the Mognet Summer Screenshot Contest - Bring the Heat! we needed you to take pictures of your character for the very not real Mognet Summer Calendar.

We’ll be judging live after we finish uploading all the entries!

[mognetfc]

I prefer fun in the fireworks to fun in the sun!

[mognetfc]

The Worrier of Light's Not-Vacation

Dawn’s dream vacation….

… ended up not being as advertised.

All expenses paid, she thought as she fished a miserable-looking Duskwight from the water.  Breathtaking vistas, the Guild said.  She hopped a few more platforms and bodily hauled a young Midlander up from the edge he was dangling off.  Relaxing in the sun, they said.  Hah.  Gegeruju just doesn’t want waterlogged, ale-sodden bodies washing up on his pristine shores.

She sighed and took a moment to stretch, hearing her spine crack and joints complain.  Her eyes drifted to the endless line of the horizon dancing along the dazzling sunlit ocean.  The warm, playful breeze cooled the wetness on her skin and carried the salt-mildew smell that to every citizen of La Noscea would always mean Costa del Sol.

“Well, at least the breathtaking vistas were true,” she admitted aloud.

The pink-haired Sun Seeker standing guard as first challenge course checkpoint nearby chuckled at her, and Dawn flushed; she hadn’t expected to be overheard.  The Seeker said casually, “Pretty as pearls, ain’t it?  I could look at it all day an’ not get enough of it."  She had dimples, sharp white teeth, and bronzed skin…  an alarming amount of skin.  Bared by the same skimpy Guild outfit Haermaga had tried to foist on Dawn at the start of the Moonfire Faire, which she had immediately rejected in favor of practical long shorts and a halter.

"Oh, yes, it’s…. nice,” Dawn said lamely, since it seemed a response was expected, averting her eyes politely.

“‘Course, that’s what they’re paying us to do, so good thing, ey?” the Seeker continued, as if talking to a stranger while half-naked were normal.  “May be as I’ll stick around after this job, see if there ain’t summat work to do afore going back to th’ desert.  All that Twelves-damned sand, you hear. ”

Dawn glanced back at the white expansive beach glittering along the shore.  “Um, right.  Darn sand,” she agreed hesitantly.

“And the travelers ain’t a bad sort, you jist gotta know - I SAW THAT, YOU CHEATER!” she bellowed so suddenly that Dawn startled and jumped a yalm in the air.  “GET YER GREAT GANGLY MUSCLES AWAY FROM THAT LAUNCHPAD!  YOU AIN’T PASSED ME YET, YOU SLIMY SWINDLIN’ SON OF A SWINEHERD!”

Down below, a guilty-looking Sea Wolf scuttled away from the start of the second course while all challengers and beach-goers in the vicinity turned to stare.  The Seeker raised a fist and brandished it, tail puffing out in indignation as she dealt the cheater a verbal flaying.  Dawn took the chance while the Seeker was distracted to scurry to the platform edge and jump into the water.

No, this wasn’t anywhere near her dream vacation, she continued thinking as she paddled through the shallows towards the second island.  Too many drunkards and brash, half-grown younglings trying to show off.  Too many children playing with explosive firecrackers.  And too many half-naked people, with all that exposed skin and that… that jiggling.  Why couldn’t people keep their skin to themselves?  The Raens did, and they lived underwater.  Besides, there were jellyfish and giant crabs here, for Twelves’ sake; what sort of fools yanked off their clothing and flailed around in the ocean like live shark bai -

“Heeey miss kitty!  Miss - hic - pretty kitty!”

Speaking of.

A drunk, middle-aged Dunesfolk clinging to a support post waved frantically at her.  Dawn eyed the prominent beer belly protruding over the top of his floral swim trunks and the bottle of Flying Kraken rum clutched in a tiny fist, and for a viciously selfish moment considered just pretending she hadn’t seen anything.  But she pasted on her best reassuring Warrior of Light smile and paddled over to him. 

Just like ferrying people around in Eureka, she told herself as the Lalafell latched onto her shirt.  When the small man accidentally grabbed her sensitive ear, she winced and amended, If Eurekans were half-naked, sloshed, and utterly hopeless.  Krile and Ejika would ship them all back to Kugane in a bucket.

Dawn deposited the incoherently babbling Dunesfolk at the foot of the stairs leading up to the shore pier with a polite “Please don’t drink and dive anymore, sir,” which the man was probably was too drunk to understand, and turned back to survey the challenge course. 

The majority of the Faire participants had either given up at the second course or were still floundering in the water beneath it.  A group of Highlander girls had spread a picnic mat on the grass on the second island and were hollering at people as they fell off like spectators at the chocobo races.  An enterprising Mi'qote child had set up a cutely-decorated stall on the island and was making a fortune selling shaved ice to despondent dropouts.  Dawn wondered if she was related to the Aliapohs.  Or an apprentice of Rowena.

A streak of movement near the Tower caught her eye - a small figure plummeted from its peak and hit the ocean below with a terrific, bone-cracking splash.  Immediately Dawn dove beneath the surface and launched herself in that direction.

Glowing pink coral and startled schools of blue and yellow angelfish flashed by.  The water beneath the Tower was deep and shadowed, but she glimpsed a blaze of bright red cloth, seized a fistful of it, and hauled her charge to the surface.

The young Wildwood Elezen she’d rescued floated limply in her grip, red-faced and curled in on himself in pain.  “Sir, are you alright?” Dawn asked, her free hand glowing with the beginning of a cure spell.

With a choked, sputtering gasp, the lad wheezed, “Just - just landed wrong.  Shiva’s teeth, my stomach!”

Applying the spell, Dawn raised an eyebrow and asked, “Was that a belly flop?  From the top of the Tower?”

The poor boy whined and curled up even tighter.

Dawn sighed and towed the prone boy back to the third island.  P'obyano, the blond, lion-tailed Moon Keeper who stood guard at the last checkpoint, received them with a smirk.

“Watched it aaaall happen,” she drawled, flicking her sunglasses up.

“And you just let him?” Dawn said, applying another cure.

“Surrre.  See those kids thataway?"  P'obyano gestured, and Dawn looked over her shoulder to see a gaggle of sniggering Wildwood teens clustered not far away.  "That lot’s been trying to show each other up all day.  Nothing I say’s going to stop them from putting their prrride before their purrrses."  She gave Dawn a once-over.  "Though I dare say if the esteemed Warrrrior of Light tried…" 

She purred the word warrior in a way that made Dawn envious.  She’d never managed to get that insolent drawl down.

"No, I’d rather not throw my weight around for teenage antics,” Dawn sighed, watching the glow of her spell fade.  “Thancred would never let me hear the end of it.  It’d be ’Worrier of Light’ jokes until Heavensturn.”

The Keeper’s smirk widened.  “Worrrrier of Light.  I’ll remember that one."  She beckoned at the sodden youth, who was no longer wheezing and appeared to be trying to inch away unnoticed.  "Leave this one to me, miss worrrier.  If he’s got a whisker’s worth of sense in his head, he’ll stop butting his head against the Tower like a cat before a coeurrrl.”

Dawn left P'obyano to prune the boy’s ego.  Glancing around, she didn’t see anyone in need of immediate rescue, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any.  A better vantage point would help. 

The Tower waited behind her, like an awkward visitor on the doorstep too polite to knock twice.

She set her shoulders and started climbing the short wooden planks that made up the third course.  Despite the rumored shared genes between Mi'qotes and cats, in addition to the lack of a proper purr Dawn had also failed to inherit even an onze of feline grace.  Which is fine, she told herself firmly.  I’m a white mage, not some wire-walking, edge-dancing ninja.  Still, the first time she’d tried the third course she’d fallen flat on her tail twice, and her face still burned to remember it. 

At least no one from her Free Company had been around to witness her humiliation.

She heaved herself onto the lowest platform and took a moment’s break, feet dangling over the edge.  The La Noscean sun was high in the sky now, past its zenith and bathing everything in a glowing heat.  The wood beneath her palms and thighs was warm, the cheerful voices of the Faire crowd buzzed in a pleasant murmur, and little white, puffy clouds bounced in the azure sky like Happy Bunnies. 

There were no primals to fight, no invading empires to subdue, no fledgling leaders to reassure.  For just a few hours, it was just her, the rolling ocean, and the Happy Bunnies in the sky.

It was, kind of -  almost - like the vacation advertised.  Minus the drunkards and inadvisable clothing.

Dawn climbed back to her feet and scanned the coastline again.  Down below, it looked like the Wildwood teen had escaped P'obyano’s mocking calls, but none of the boys were approaching the Tower again.  The water beneath the platforms was clear of fallen people, and she could see a fellow Guild member slowly patrolling the second course in wide, slow circles.

If she wasn’t needed for a while….

She glanced at the unobtrusive plank that starting point of the bonus challenge.  Although she’d lost track of how many challengers she’d pulled from the water beneath the Tower, Dawn had yet to actually try it herself.  But nobody was drowning right at the moment.

More importantly, nobody was there to watch her fail.

She rubbed her damp palms on her shorts and walked to the edge, sizing up the distance.  She was no Kugane Tower climber, but surely….

Dawn squared her shoulders, crouched, and leaped.

… surely the Warrior of Light could do it.

  Ten minutes later, the Warrior of Light wished she’d vacationed in Mist instead.

Dawn’s nails scrabbled at the side of the Tower, knees clunking painfully into the wood.  She was wobbling on one foot atop a peg scarcely three five ilms across and trying desperately to not let the impending sixty-yalm drop into the frothing ocean get to her nerves.  She wouldn’t look down, she wouldn’t look down, she wouldn’t -

She glanced down, whimpered, and squeezed her eyes shut.

“It’s okay, it’s just like flying,” she told herself, a near-hysteric edge cracking her voice.  “Dragoons jump all the time and don’t get hurt, except when they do, and ooh, dear Fat Cat, why am I doing this?”

It looked like there was some sort of ledge upcoming.  If she could get there, she could recuperate and just… wait for a rescue.  Like that hatchling always getting into the rafters at the Gold Saucer.  Yes.

She inhaled, jumped, fingers outstretched -

 - they brushed against the wood -

 - and slid off.

“NOOO!” she squealed, flailing wildly in freefall.  A passing peg slammed into her stomach and knocked her breath out, but she seized it, her arm nearly yanked from its socket, and dangled from one hand, legs kicking uselessly over empty air.  One sandal flew off her foot and arced out over the ocean, vanishing beneath the waves.

As she hung there, dazed and recovering from the adrenaline rush, a very familiar voice called out, “Ohoho!  You gotta do better than that, Dawn!”

A shadow fell across her eyes from above.  She squinted up and there, perched at the very top of the Tower and backlit by the La Noscean sun, grinning as madly as Hancock, was the leader of her Free Company, Anethum.  The Seeker waggled her eyebrows mischievously and said, “Betcha didn’t think anyone saw that, huh?”

Dawn’s blood rushed to her cheeks.  “You - saw?” she squeaked, clinging to the peg. 

Anethum cackled.  Dawn buried her face in the side of the Tower and groaned, “How long have you been up there?”

“Since I woke up, of course!”

A suspicion grew.  “And how long have you been awake?”

“Uhhh….."  There was a pause.  "What day is it.”

“Ane, go to sleep,” Dawn sighed.  She contemplated the distance to the next peg, but decided it wasn’t worth it and that she would just dangle there for eternity.  Her pride was already lost at the bottom of the ocean with her sandal anyway.

“Sleep is for losers!  I have to stake my claim on my throne!"  Anethum flung her arms out wide, the gesture encompassing the peak, the Tower itself, or perhaps all of Costa del Sol.  It was impossible to tell with Anethum.

Dawn craned her neck to look upwards.  "Is anyone else up there?”

The green-haired Mi'qote flopped down over the edge, legs kicking carelessly as she pouted.  Sweet Nymeia, if Dawn had half her grace…. “Nah,” Anethum said.  “Jahin was here, but he went home hours ago to eat dinner.  I was betrayed, Dawn, betrayed for food.”

The suspicion doubled.  “Ane, have you even eaten anything today?”

Anethum opened her mouth, probably to say something like “The thrill of victory sustains me! ” but she was cut off by a vibration that jarred the entire Tower.

Something big - something mind-numbingly enormous - bellowed in the distance.  Its enraged voice shook the earth, rattled bones, split the air like thunder and hellfire.  A gigantic shadow emerged from the foliage beyond the coastline, rearing and trumpeting in challenge.

Anethum leaped to her feet and breathed, more reverent than a pilgrim in the Sanctum of the Twelve, “The Garlok."  A hungry fire burned in her eyes.  Then she seemed to rein herself in.  "But my throne,” she whined, hopping up and down in agitation.  “But the Garlok!  My - my throne!  Aaagh!”

The Garlok bellowed it thunderous challenge again and the Tower shook in response.

Anethum teetered off the platform.

Dawn’s eyes tracked her almost as if time had slowed.  As the Keeper plummeted past, Dawn’s hand snapped out and without thinking she activated Rescue.  Anethum’s body yanked backwards in mid-air and slammed into Dawn, who caught her with a surprised “Oomph!” and released her handhold.

They both started falling.

“Ahahahaha!” Anethum cackled in glee as they fell.  Dawn opened her mouth to shriek back, but then they hit water with a resounding smack.

Dawn kicked to the surface first, looking frantically around for her leader.  “Ane?” she called.  Nearby she could see the Aliapohs jumping up and down in excitement and the Wildwood teens pointing at the Garlok in the distance.  A shirtless Highlander floating in the water nearby gaped at her in surprise.

Anethum surfaced next to the HIghlander still laughing.  “Great googly moogly, Dawn, that was great,” she chortled.  “Best rescue!  Hundred points!”

Dawn covered her red face with wet hands.  “I tried,” she mumbled.

The Garlok’s roar sounded again and Ane’s head snapped up like a chocobo sighting gysahl greens.  “To the HUNT!  Everyone, COME ON!” she bellowed and smacked the back of the unfortunate Highlander, who sputtered and got a mouthful of saltwater.  The Keeper grabbed him and started enthusiastically hauling him towards the shore, yelling, “Move your patooties!  We got a beastie to kill!”

Dawn paddled after them.  As she passed the third island, a voice hailed her, and she looked back to see P'obyano watching with sunglasses pushed up and lazy smirk in place.

“Skiving on Faire work, arrre you?” P'obyano drawled.

Dawn glanced at the crowd of Fairegoers scattered around.  They were mostly out of water now, gathering in anticipation of a good show.  On the shore her leader waved impatiently, and in the distance the Garlok waited.

“This sort of thing isn’t really my forte anyway,” she said. 

P'obyano nodded.  “I’ll cover you.  Go save Eorzea, miss Worrrrier of Light.”

Dawn pushed away the wet bangs plastered to her forehead and found herself grinning for the first time that day.  Her soul sang with the familiar anticipation of victory.

“I will!”

[mognetfc]

Wake Me Up When The Faire Begins

The sun slowly creeps through the shades over the sleeping miqo’te. He stirs, opening his turquoise eyes that sparkle in the light, and sits up. Stretching out like a cat as he yawns, he looks around the room. It’s an inn, likely the one in Limsa, though he doesn’t remember falling asleep on the bed.

“That was a great nap either way,” he mutters to no one, “I wonder what time it is?” He shuffles over to the magical calendar to check the time. “Ah it’s only been a few hours- …. Wait.. I SLEPT FOR TWO WEEKS!?!? Ah crap! The faire starts today!!”

The miqo’te hurries to get ready, not wanting to miss the event he has been waiting months for. He pulls out his best yukata and sandals, brushes his always fabulous raven hair, and throws on his new mask, one that covers the top half of his face. The daggers at his sides glow as he sprints out the door.

“I can’t wait to speed run that obstacle course. Watching them construct it has been torture!” The miqo’te whines, zipping past people like a shadow. “Moonfire Faire here I come!”

The sun shines brightly on this joyous day, fireworks flying off and people enjoying the festivities. The waters of Costa del Sol are calm and clear, allowing the sea life to be witnessed from shore. The raven hair miqo’te grins, having completed the events and now enjoying the sun in his new outfit.

“What a great day. Can’t wait to do this again tomorrow.” He mutters, yawning. He lays back on the soft grass, “Hopefully this nap won’t have me sleeping through the rest of the faire.” Chuckling as he closes his eyes and dozes off in the sun.

[mognetfc]

Jahin's Perfect Vacation

                As far as the eye can see, sand.

                An endless sea of sand covered the landscape, from horizon to horizon to horizon. A gentle wind disturbed the dunes only slightly, providing the very slightest relief from the beating sun. Endless waves of sand covered the ocean of the desert, looking as though they were poised to crash down at any moment. And yet, all was still.

                Except for one lone figure. A single solitary slowly treads across the land. Dressed in light robes, with a great hat upon her head, with a heavy pack upon her back, and a gently swishing tail, she is the only thing that can be seen moving for miles. Her tracks trail off into the distance, until they too are swept away by the wind. She has been walking for hours, or perhaps days. The Forgotten Springs encampment she had departed is now long-past, the only reality in front of her is the nigh-endless Sagolii Desert. Time is but a forgotten memory upon the dunes. If you couldn’t track the sun, you’d have no way of knowing how long the beating heat would continue. An inhospitable hell-scape, where nothing could possibly survive.

                Our lone figure, the ever-industrious Jahin Savarkar, finishes clambering atop another dune. Perhaps it is her hundredth since beginning. Perhaps it has been a thousand. Who could say? She stops, and looks around her. Not a single living being can be seen for miles. Her face turns pensive for a moment, and then hardens. With a quick nod, she has made her decision.

                Jahin unlimbers her pack from her back and begins to pull things out of it. First, a massive cotton towel is produced and then thrown across the dune. Easily several yalms across, Jahin takes her time to flatten it out carefully. Next, a series of steel poles is removed. With a speed that only comes from experience, Jahin begins to assemble them together. Slowly, they form the skeletal shape of a canopy. With a mighty shove, and the help of a few whacks from one of her hammers, the canopy is secured to the ground. Another bundle of cotton is produced, and secured atop the canopy. Within her newly established shelter, safe from the murderous sun, Jahin breathes a sigh of relief. Next, she begins to dump the remaining supplies in her pack out upon the ground.

                Enough crystals to summon a fairly mediocre primal are dumped out first. Jahin quickly seizes upon some ice crystals. With a touch of magic and a lot of flashing light, she spreads several thoroughly around the inside of the canopy. The temperature inside begins to fall, from the exterior of the sun to merely a “pretty damn hot.” Another sigh of relief escapes Jahin’s lips. Her work begins to slow, as the completion of her task approaches.

                Some magically frozen foodstuffs are produced and placed aside. A hammock is set up. A very large water-skin is placed upon yet more ice crystals, and some more magic happens. A trio of oranges are pulled from a side-pocket. Through the strange arts of Culinary Magician Crafting, some orange juice is produced from them and placed into an appropriate cup with a tiny little umbrella inside of it. Finally, her task is complete. And her shockingly massive pack is finally nearly empty.

                Jahin sits upon her hammock, exhausted. Walking for hours will do that to anyone, after all. But it was necessary. It had to be done. Finally, she can relax. Jahin removes her hat and places it aside, followed shortly by her gloves and her boots. After a brief moment of fiddling with fasteners and ties, Jahin’s robes and pants join the pile, leaving the catgirl in her underwear. And then, after a long, scanning look around the horizon, her final two pieces join the pile.

                Jahin settled into her hammock, leaning over only to browse through the books she had brought with her. She glanced over An Imperial History of Ala Mhigo, a book she had been meaning to read for several months now. Now was the best time to take care of this, it was important for work after all, Jahin reasoned. After three and a half pages Jahin put it back down and decided it could wait for a few more months.

                Looking for another selection, she briefly considered her more interesting fair. She had already read Cynemund Century in the Fell Keep of the Underlords a dozen times, but perhaps that’d be a fair way to pass the time. Or perhaps she should pretend to be cultured, and read The Child Who Never Grew, a book about a Lalafell adopted by an Ishgardian noble family on a whim. Or she could read Franz the Fair Meets His Match, the touching definitely-made-up story about the famous Ul’dahn gladiator who finds himself outmatched in both battle and love against the might of Aldhelm the Adder. And then she could read the other three books that made up the quadrilogy too, Franz the Fair: Unbreakable Promises, Franz the Fair: My Fair General, and Franz the Fair: Fell Keep of the Underlords. Apparently the series went a little off the rails at the end, but ah well, Jahin had made her decision.

                A couple of pleasant hours passed as the sun dipped lower, as Franz continued to refuse to see what was right in front of him. Didn’t he realize that Godwyn was only using him as a stepping stool to become a Paladin? Why couldn’t he realize the Aldhelm’s firm morality was as perfect a fit for him as his firm muscles?

                Jahin turned a page, and began to take a sip of her drink. And then she heard it. A faint rustle in the sand, as if something was being dragged through it. Her movements froze. Something was behind her, hiding behind one of the corners of the canopy. It had gotten far closer than it should have. Carefully, as quietly as she could, Jahin reached down towards where she had placed her staff. It never left her side for long. Her hands closed around it. With blinding speed, Jahin threw herself off her hammock, twisted in mid-air, summoned all of her thaumaturlogical skills, and blasted a fireball at her best approximation of where the sound had come from. An arcane fireball scorched past the edge of the canopy and exploded onto the open sand, singing the edge of her towel. A quick, high-pitched shriek accompanied the explosion.

                Something green shot into view. It was maybe half the size of a man, with roughly human proportions. If you ignored the way it’s arms bent at the perfect 90 degree angles. And if you ignored that it was definitely a cactus. A cactuar had snuck up on her. Just her luck, that she would meet something both so rare and so perfectly attuned to the desert. She summoned up her magic’s again, readying another fireball, and then-

                “Wait, please, fair adventurer, listen to my plea!”

                Jahin’s teeth gritted, her tailed pitched straight up in surprise, and her fireball roared just over the head of the Cactuar that was now prostrating itself before her. After a moment of dumb-founded staring, Jahin found her voice, and uttered the first words she had on her journey.

                “No. Absolutely not. I am on vacation. I am not helping anyone with anything. Why do you think I’m in the middle of the desert? It’s not because I love the feeling of sand all up in me!”

                And then paused, and added “And since when could you walking succulents talk!?”

                It leaped to it’s feet and fixed it’s gaze once more upon her. “Oh, I knew I could count on you! We, the great civilization of the Smart Cactuars, Smarctuars for short, are in dire need of your assistance! Our leaders, the Council of Smart Cactuars, or the CoSmarctuars for short, is making an awful decision! They have gathered a great many crystals at the behest of strange, black robed cactuars, and our planning to summon our god to smite their foes and strength their rule!”

                Jahin stared at the small green creature. She looked like she was about to cry. Now using her staff and her hands to try to preserve some modesty Jahin said, in a quiet voice “Look, can’t someone else handle this? Anyone else? I haven’t had a break in four years.”

                “No, there’s no one else! Your coming was prophesized in the Old Books of the Needle! So none of us actually bothered to get ready to deal with this ourselves! You’re our only hope!”

                Her shoulders sagged. Jahin let out a long, long sigh. With a defeated tone she finally spoke “I suppose I can’t leave your whole civilization to die and eat away at the planet’s life force. Well, let me pack my things and get dressed, I guess.” Jahin walked back to her half-empty drink, with the umbrella. She choked back a sob.

                “Oh, thank you miss, thank you! I’ll tell you everything I know about the cruel god our leaders have summoned! He’s green, and huge! And he looks just like one of us! We call him Jumbo Cactuar! We’re not a very creative people! Anyways, so in his first phase, he’s going to-“

                But Jahin had tuned him out. She just stared. Across the open desert. It was so, so empty. So how!? Why did this keep happening to her!? Left only with questions, and a weird green thing yammering about stack markers, Jahin’s suffering continued.