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shieldkeeper · 2 months ago

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Writing Prompt: Hackneyed Word Count: 865 ---> masterlist

One mind. One drive. One goal.

Hunt. Eat. Battle. War. Expand. Conquer. Destroy.

Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight. Fight…!

Words and meaning blended into one. All within one shared conscious. One shared mindset that never deviated. No desires save for that of the true Overmind. No thought of yours was your own. A glorious echo chamber that united every single unit upon the same path. All by one name. With many appendages to be called its soldiers of no names.

Such was the colony of the Gnath. Following those self-same commands from first breath to last. Their experiences shared with the one mind to forever live on as fact, but the shell of their former selves to be left forgotten after a service. For there was not one amongst themselves with any sense of individuality—none save the Overmind who connected them all and linked them together. All one and the same.

Yet one Gnath was different amongst them. Not like the Vath with their own individuality and names. For they were still one and the same with every other entity of the Gnath. Driven and grown within the same hivemind. But they were of flesh and blood in comparison to their insectoid mates. Of a different race altogether, but was born a Gnath Warrior to battle on the frontlines and secure succulent meats. Thrown to war in droves with their brethren for territory. With no mind for themselves or their body.

An overbearing mantra that continued its melody regardless of their true form.

Fight! Kill! War! Conquer! For Glorious Combat..!

Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill Kill

…

Until it snapped.

When ceaseless, maddening thoughts came to a complete and utter stop. And the unnamed unit came to a sudden halt. Their mind had gone blank. That connection they had always had with them… the voice of their colony and everything that they were… gone within an instant. Letting loose a feral scream of confusion as a new world of color rushed into their eyes and overtook them. Bathing them in new thoughts… a new voice to them… But whose were they? Where had their consciousness gone?

The comfort of the Overmind was no longer present. What were these thoughts? These feelings? This rush of adrenaline and mindfulness of one’s self?

They had become so overwhelmed that they simply collapsed upon themselves then and there. Whatever they had been doing… whatever they had been fighting… taking the charge in capturing their person and enveloping them in warm embrace.

…

When next they came to, they were surrounded. By those who looked and appeared like their brethren, but their thoughts did not intermingle with theirs. Nothing could be heard save for the clicks between themselves and voices—their voices. The Vath. That much they realized.

The unit stood there a blank slate. A husk of themselves. Empty and unfeeling.

The Vath tried to explain to them what had happened. That their link with the onemind had been severed. That they were free to live and become an individual. That they had been saved by one of their kin.

Kin?

Hazy eyes scanned the crowd until one of small stature stepped forth. They were not a Gnath or Vath. But the way they looked… the way they moved and held out their arms in welcome. The unnamed reached out their own arms and realized themselves the same of body. Where their warmth intermingled on touch… the same warmth that had enveloped them before when they collapsed.

“From this day forth, you are not another nameless number. You have been born anew with a life of your own. No longer will you follow the will of another. Not when you now have one of your own.”

So said the lalafell by the name of Garen before them.

Maddening. This feeling of madness. Where their thoughts called out for their colony, only to be met with complete and utter silence. As if they’d been lost and abandoned.

They… they had to think for themselves now…?

They could never return?

“Come with me.” Garen took their hand in his. “I know it’s a lot, but the Vath filled me in on what you must be feeling right now. I can help with that. And I can help you become the person you’re meant to be.”

Words that rang hollow in this lost soul’s mind. Of one who only ever knew to fight and nothing more. A desire that he didn’t even have at this moment… that familiar desire to fight! It was as though it had been drained into nothingness.

“Seiseito.” The lalafellin man had spoken up again. “You are one of my own kind and so you deserve to be named as one. Seiseito will be your name. Lest you opt for something different later.”

“Sei…seito…” The words sounded foreign in their own voice. Learning now that they even had a voice! One of their own.

They… Seiseito… would follow this unknown man. Learn the ways of his new life and of his new kin. To learn the meaning to life for oneself. And not for a whole.

#ffxiv #writing #ffxivwrite #ffxivwrite2024 #gnath #vath #seiseito

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shieldkeeper · 3 months ago

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Writing Prompt: Steer Word Count: 765 ---> masterlist

Ahhh… blue seas, clear skies, and boundless possibilities!

Or so it should have been.

Garen’s crew had set off from Old Sharlayan once all crew was accounted for. Everyone had their own place, their own duty, and their hull full of supplies for the journey that would take a few days to cross the ocean proper. They were as ready as they’d ever be to make for the New World of Tural.

Joining him was Emrys, Totsuka, Kojin, Luin, Mogcan, Olyxio, Seiseito, and most of all his Da, Yavin. Each associating and serving as ambassador for a specific society tribe to foster friendly relations amongst their people. Tural was but another place on the docket to complete that mission, though it was also for the fact of… adventure! A land full of mystery and intrigue compared to those of Eorzea and Othard. Tale was that Tural was home to many communities and tribes that had managed to make friends with their neighbors and live amicably.

Something that intrigued Garen most in his desire to bridge that same gap back home.

Though that was neither here nor there given their… current situation.

Halfway into their journey across the western seas did they encounter a storm unlike other. Yavin had been the first to sniff it out before it so much as came into view and warned Garen that they were in for a rough one. Trusting in his Da’s knowledge and experience with the seas, as captain of his crew he called for all hands on deck. To prepare for the worst as he would steer the boat on course—for the clouds they approached spread far over their path.

Indeed, the waves grew choppy and seized round them as they entered the fray. The unexperienced of the crew holding on for dear life to their appointed spot as the vessel swayed unnaturally beneath their feet. Rain poured heavily and lightning struck hazardly all around them. One wrong move and they might very well go overboard. Worse yet if their ship ended up struck and sunken!

Through it all, Garen managed to carry them through the storm. His Da barking orders to the others much like he had in his heyday as a captain himself. Where some struggled, Yavin was right there telling them what to do. Any who appeared to have no clue what they were doing, he sent down into the ship to instead fortify their belongings and nothing of import broke—though it was mostly to get the useless hands out of the way so he himself could take over.

It was an all-out effort to be certain… and there were times Garen wondered if he might have lost a crew member amidst the struggle…

But ultimately they had escaped rather unscathed!

Well, except for the majority who were sick as a dog from being tossed and turned all over the place.

Once they were free of the storm’s clutches completely and able to assess damages, Yavin took over the helm as Garen checked in on each member. Mogcan and Olyxio having been the most useless of the lot (and at times, made things worse) had remained below deck for the majority. Out of fear of the situation, they had unglamoured back into their original forms and were found huddled together beneath a blanket as sylph and moogle refused to come out. Not until they knew all was well again. It was Emrys who truly kept everything safe and restrained below decks in the grand scheme of things.

Kojin and Seiseito had held their own above decks just fine. Luin and Totsuka struggled but ultimately were able to assist in a meaningful way with Yavin’s direction—though they may have been a bit too sick for words after being tossed about so roughly. Garen thanked them all regardless for keeping their cool and relieved them of their duties to get some rest.

Through the rest of the journey, Yavin and Garen took turns manning the wheel and watching for any further rough waters that might take them for a turn. Though it had been a rough one, it had been the only thing standing in their way of Tural.

For the closer they got, the clearer the waters became. Seabirds ringing in their arrival as Tuliyollal came into sight. Their destination just beyond the coral reef.

At long last, the New World lay right before their very eyes. A new place to call home as they settled in for their next grand adventure. And a step closer to Garen achieving what he so wished back home.

#ffxiv #writing #ffxivwrite #ffxivwrite2024

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shieldkeeper · 3 months ago

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FFXIVWrite 2024 Entries

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#ffxivwrite #ffxivwrite2024 #writing #masterlist

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