#yes y'shtola is writing to minfillia who else would she be writing to

[sparrowwritings]

Reporting on Something Unforeseen

So this is based off of a Final Fantasy 14 dual Warrior of Light AU that @thedovahcat and I came up with. The basic idea is that the events of the game are the same but some of the further (spoilerific) implications have drastically changed. Not to mention that the two are about 17 years old, so there’s some more character-based interactions that are slightly different but in a way that we find fun (which is kinda the point of AUs lol).

This takes place early early on in the story quests.

Roger belongs to her, Lara belongs to me, everyone else is from the game itself.

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There is quite a lot of debate surrounding the nature of fate. Does it exist? If so, how much control does it have over the lives of men and beastmen? If not, then are our actions beholden unto the Gods, the mother crystal or something else entirely?

My master is of a mind that it doesn’t matter if fate exists. What truly matters is what one does with the life given to you, and what others remember you by. Most of the time, I’m inclined to agree with her. Yet, there are times when I witness something that has me pause and consider such questions with genuine curiosity. After all, all creatures great and small are connected to the world in various ways--that events should happen that could only happen because of a predetermined path set by said connections wouldn’t be entirely farfetched, at least in the short term.

But since this letter is not to be an essay on the nature of fate, I must describe to you the incident that has most recently caused me to think such things. I believe you will be most interested in this, even to the point of forgiving me for waxing philosophical for so long in this preamble. 

Just this morn, I had returned to Limsa Lominsa after having patrolled and noted the levels of aether near where the beastmen tribes tend to gather. (See the attached report that are included with this letter.) I had been about to write a far more formal letter when I espied the boy that Papalymo and Yda recently introduced to our little group, Roger Briden. It wasn’t hard to notice him--Roger’s eyes were the size of dinner plates as he wandered through the streets of the floating city. He was lucky he wasn’t in Ul’dah, though I suspect that the local pickpockets were disappointed about what little money he had on his person.

Part of me wanted to hail him and see what he was up to, but some instinct held me back. I listened to it and followed the boy. His path was meandering, but the general direction never wavered. It was as if Roger’s feet were following the directive of something his mind wasn’t privy to. 

Soon enough, the destination he was drawn to was evident: the Culinarian Guild and the restaurant that it employs with its members. Again, he stared about the place as if to drink up the sight of something new. I was again inclined to get his attention when a commotion from inside drew the boy and subsequently myself. 

There was some sort of celebration to be had regarding one of the guild’s younger members. I recognized her as someone that I have written about before: Lara Marner. As you may recall, she is predominantly a culinarian by trade. Nonetheless she is a skilled fighter and is known to assist the Yellowjackets with local problems as handily as any adventurer. The girl also has the same knack of being in the area of curious spikes in aetheric resonance that Roger does. 

At this point you might be realizing what direction this tale will go, but I must report what I witnessed with as much accuracy as possible for your consideration.

Having saved the life of another guild member, the master had offered a round of drinks to everyone in the restaurant in Lara’s name. She accepted the praise and adulation with a humility (and awkwardness) I’ve only seen in Roger before. For his part, he seemed to get caught up in the celebration and swept into being seated at a small table. A drink had been placed in his hands, but the boy ignored it in favor of trying to figure out who was being lauded. 

Instinct demanded I stay on the outskirts of the joviality. I now realize that this was so that I could have the perfect seat for what was about to happen.

Lara, after being thoroughly toasted for her heroism, made her way through the crowd to take the orders of awaiting patrons. Roger had gotten tired of waiting to see who was being cheered and stood up to leave just as she was heading in his direction. The greetings she had on her lips died the moment their eyes locked. Were this to have happened in a play, all other activity should have ceased around them. As it stood, only those two were still in the lively room for a prolonged moment.

And then the two pitched forward--each clutching their own heads in a discomfort you will be all too familiar with. Miraculously, they didn’t collide with how much violence the visions seized them with. It was then that I made my way to them at the same time as another--the master of the Culinarian Guild. Together, we made certain that the two were seated at the previously unoccupied table to be certain that any potential fainting spells could be circumvented. 

A brief conversation with him confirmed that Lara had indeed had such moments before, though never with such ferocity. He perfectly described what she must have told him--of the dream of Her voice calling out her name along with “Hear, Feel, Think,” and the visions that came from said dream of events never described but nonetheless known to her. All clear signs that, like Roger and yourself, Lara indeed possessed the Echo. 

Self-flagellation is the primary talent of Thancred, so instead I will apologize for not having discovered her before now and promise to make it up to you in whatever way you so choose at a later date.

Whatever it was that the two had seen while under the Echo’s effects, the moment they returned to this realm it was as if the two had been friends for years despite having only met just moments before. They spoke at length with such speed and enthusiasm that I quickly lost track of the plot of the conversation. The chatter of the children was enough to calm the worries of the master enough for him to leave them to me to handle. 

I have since been chaperoning Lara and Roger as she gives him a grand tour of the city. As I am writing, we have stopped by the marketplace for the two to browse the merchants’ wares. The two of them get distracted easily enough that I knew that a report could be written long before they could wander away once more.

Which brings me back to the topic of fate. How was it that Roger was led to the Culinarian’s Guild at that exact moment? The two have lives about as far apart as could be. He, a carer of chocobos in Gridania. She, a culinarian in Limsa Lominsa. Their lives shouldn’t have had the chance to interact. And yet, his notable deeds in the Black Shroud gave him permission and a task to come to La Noscea. And from there in a moment of whimsy Roger was able to discover another Echo user. One that had also made a name for herself with helping her fellow man in noteworthy ways. Was it chance or destiny that made such a series of events possible?

You need not reply to such musings, for there is a far more important question for all of us to consider.

Should we invite Lara Marner into the Scions? The people I have spoken with about her deeds sing her praises in similar ways that those who spoke well of Roger do. I will of course also attach what I have learned about her to this report for you to pass along to the others. 

I will await your reply in Limsa. Now that she knows my face (and Roger has been adorably gushing about how “amazing” I am) I feel that whatever is decided she will accept the information from me well enough.

Regards,

Y’shtola