Friday, 9 February 2007

The Pilgrimage of a Summoner

Being a white mage, i have two standards options for my subjob. What is a subjob? Well... how to explain? You know you can change your job using your moogle's magic, that is, clearing your body and mind of the knowledge you have about your current discipline, and making them ready to learn new things about something completely different.
Well, through an alchemic process, some wise old men are able to enable us to use the techniques of a second job we have learned. But this secondary job, or subjob, only help us halfway. You can't use all the knowledge you have learned for it, only the part that adds up to half the power you have in your main job.

So, as i was saying, as a white mage, i have two standard options for subjob. One is "black mage", following the path of the darkness and the nature elements. The other is "summoner", practicing a heretic form of magic where you summon the embodiements of nature themselves. Black mage has nice abilities to lend to the adept of white magic: for one we can increase our arsenal of enfeebling spells, and also, we learn time-space magic (spells like warp, tractor and escape, that are so useful for the job of a healer). Summoner, in the other side highly increases our magic endurance (or MP), since the art of summoning is so draining, and also allows us to perform half-power summonings... even though they are half power, they are enough to grant some defensive bonus to my companions and me. But more importantly, it grants refresh, a steady increase of our MP without needing to kneel and concentrate. Since us elvaans have a naturally low magic endurance, i need to train my summoning skills, to use it as my subjob.

When did i become a Summoner? Well, it isn't exactly easy. It was a quest that involved killing looooooooooooooooots of leeches. Hehehe, poor Shukie... she was the one who helped me killing them. She was so annoyed! At the end of that quest, Carbuncle (cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute! *^_^*) revealed himself to me, and lended me his power.
No matter how cute he is... when you are a summoner, you expect to be able to summon spirits, powerful beings that come to your aid.
There are many avatars. 8 of them are celestial, and everybody knows of them, because they have their own constellations. An element belongs to each one of them: Shiva is the avatar of Ice, Garuda is the avatar of Wind, Titan is the avatar of Earth, Ramuh is the avatar of Lightning, Leviathan is the avatar of Water, Ifrit is the avatar of Fire, Alexander is the avatar of Light and Odin is the avatar of Darkness.
And then we have 5 terrestrial avatars: Carbuncle (cute Carby! *^_^*) the bringer of rainbows, Fenrir, the guardian of the Moon, Diabolos, the ruler of dreams, Phoenix, the fiery bird of resurrection, and Bahamut, the conqueror of the skies.

Out of them all, summoners in Vana'diel have been only able to locate 9: Shiva, Garuda, Titan, Ramuh, Leviathan, Ifrit, Carbuncle, Fenrir and Diabolos. And from what i gathered from others adventurers, their havens were quite spread around Vanadiel.
So it was time for me to start travelling them all!
It was time for me to start my summoner pilgrimage! :D

Monday, 5 February 2007

Bones and Mushrooms

*Sigh*
I didn't expect that overcoming your limits would be easy... but honestly, in all my time as healer, I have never witnessed such massacre.

There we go: Shukie, Songoku, a couple of friends of his, and me. To the Eldieme Necropolis.
I don't know much about the place... other than an eerie atmosphere surrounds it, and that old adventurers tell scare stories to newbies about it. And as it turns out, those stories didn't err by too much.
So, I teleport ourselves to the plains of La Theine, about halfway between San d'Oria and Jeuno. Did I ever tell you that I love teleporting people? ^_- I guess it's a pleasure only comparable to what Black Mages feel when warping someone they don't like, hehehe. You bad bad black mages... yeah, Zae, i am looking at you :D
From there, we ride rental chocobos all the way to the Batallia Downs, where we turn south towards the Spine of Batallia. Have you guys noticed how many Spines are spread out in Vana'diel? They are connected to the crags, somehow... anyway, past the Spine, very close to the cliff where the RMT sectarians fish for the profit of their cult, is where we entered the Necropolis.
Our first bad surprise: our scorts told us to wait there; they would tell us when an ancient papyrus would drop, and leave it untouched for us (these items Maat told us to collect have an "EX"spell on them: whoever touches them becomes their unique owner, and cannot be traded). "This sucks..." i thought... but Shukie was a lot more explicit about it. We messed around a bit, Shukie died once (it feels terrible being healer and running away from a hopeless battle, while your melee friend stay there and die... but it's the rational thing to do, that way i can come back and raise ;_;).
One of our escorts die. I decide it's time to stop sitting, and go inside to try to find him, and raise him. In the way, i find a group of adventurers that are pursuing our same goal: the papyrus. By then, our scorts had started to leave (we had been on it several hours), but Shukie decides to come, and we ally ourselves with these adventurers.
Still, the results are pityful: the papyrus is a paper that some Liches carry. Very few of them. Apparently only the more skilled Liches do... and in the place we were Liches were scarce. And the Liches are no joke, either: they link, and some of the most powerful ones nearly wiped us.
I want you to picture this: An alliance of 8 adventurers at level 50, being nearly wiped by a Lich that couldn't be higher than 55, according to the findings of the Windurstian mages.

Death, death, death.
Don't get me wrong. I am a White Mage, and i am used to death. I've raised many people, and many times being my own fault. But what i witnessed in Eldieme was too much. Those undead skeletons were mortally efficient against who dared to trespass their lair. Our newly found comrades began to feel weary of the fruitless battle, and started to leave. Shukie did, too. As a White Mage, i tried to stay as long as i could, but reached a point where i couldn't take it anymore.
So i told them that i needed a rest (thankfully there was another healer), and tended myself to sleep in a safe spot.
When i woke up, most had left: only a tarutaru red mage and a mithra were there, protecting my sleeping body. The taru emmited an aura of high power: it was obvious he didn't need the papyrus, but he was there to help. His name, Demontaru, didn't make him justice at all ^_^
Under his advice, we left our camp, and went further into the Necropolis, till we fell down a trap on the ground. The fall was hard, but not nearly harmful, for a trained adventurer. Walking a bit further, we found a small altar were some hume bones were glowing: there we set up our new camp. Liches around here were a lot more powerful, and more of them were carrying the papyrus... in less than one hour, me and the mithra had got ours! Yay! :D

I was sad for Shukie... but there was nothing I could do. I decided to help her back into Eldieme, but the next time i found her, she had already gone with Songoku, and got her papyrus, too ^_^

So, my last stop was at the Crawler's Nest. Very beautiful place, but very dangerous too. And the air is so thick, you could cut it with a knife. It could be said that, if Crawlers had a city at all, this would be it: there is not a nest of Crawlers nearly as big in the whole Vana'diel. Many other species live there too, symbiotically with the crawlers. And the glowing crawler crysallides... so pretty! ^_^ And many young Flies too (as you know, crawlers turn into crysallides, and they get out of the crysallide as Flies).
In any case, one of these symbiotic species are the Exoray fungi. During their sleep, Exorays skin degradate, and to protect it, they produce a kind of moss with their inner fluids that solidificate outside. This moss, called Exoray Mold, has many curative properties, and it is valuable as it is scarce: you can only get it from Exorays that have just woken up, for it evaporates quickly with their body temperature.

Looking for help, a kind Paladin named Durnell (i think... my memory for names is terrible ;_;) happened to be hunting Exorays too, but not for their mold, but to hone his skills in the use of the staff. Didn't take long before we got it. Yay!

Finally, Shukie and me met to take our items to Maat. Woot! Now we can be stronger! :D

Sunday, 28 January 2007

The Explosures Exposed!

And so, Shukie and me started our quest to shatter the barriers of our bodies. Uh... this just now didn't sound too well... :D
Soon Shukie realized that she already had one of the items. Luckily for her, during one of her training sessions in the Crawlers' Nest, she and her party had been killing Exorays, and got an Exoray Mold. I will tell you about them later ^_-.

So, we decided to go get the Bomb Coal in first place. Asking other adventurers, and revising ancient codices in the Cathedral, we worked out that the Bomb Coal was the incandescent remains of an Explosure, a Bomb-type monster. Bombs are, as you know, a peculiar type of fire-based magical beings (that is, arcana), who tend to explode when they get low on health, or when you annoy them enough.
I remember, when i was a little lass, meeting them for the first time in a nightly walk through Ronfaure... sorry, i digress :D
As i was saying, to get the Bomb Coal we needed to destroy Explosures, bombs that can only be found in the... Garlaige Citadel.
Many of you have heard surely horror stories about this place. In the past, still when i started adventuring, Beastmasters used to lure monsters into attacking unsuspecting young adventurers that were training there. But after this practice was outlawed, and the way the magical Charm worked was modified, that ended... only to unveil the Citadel true horror: overcamping!
Yes... 6, 7 or more parties training in areas that could only sustain 3 at best. Both in the Higher and Lower floors. And it is also a very popular place for training amongst the members of the Cult of RMT... i will tell you about them other day... otherwise i would never end with this story :D

So there we go, Shukie and me, with the aid of our friend Songoku, a strong Paladin, and two friends of his. It was the first time i ventured through the First Banishing Gate of the Citadel... a very exciting experience ^_^ there were so many bats... willing to aggro if we let our Sneak spell wear off, hehehe. It wasn't too bad. It took us a little while to find the cave of the Explosures. Since we were enough people not to have any problem with them, i thought i could use Ninja as my support job, and help hitting the Explosures. It took us a while, because apparently the Explosures that day weren't powerful enough to leave their incandescent remains behind them... but we finally got our first item!
We were feeling stronger already!
We thought that breaking our innate limits wasn't going to be so hard...
how naive we were being!...

Friday, 26 January 2007

In Defiant Challenge

Some days ago (make it two weeks, hehehe), my friend Shukie and me noticed that our training had become stagnant. No matter what we did, we just couldn't improve ;_; It was frustrating... specially for Shukie: imagine a Dark Knight who realizes she can't hit harder!

Well, it happens that, apparently, the bodies of the 5 races have limits. The experts of the Orastery discovered that some time ago, during the Crystal War, trying to find a way to optimize our power against the Beastmen. They even drew a diagram split into levels. The top level of the Children of Altana was level 50. We had just reached that level.
*sigh*

"What, Lumin? That's stupid! What do you mean by that?"
"Apparently, we have met the limits of our bodies... or so say the research papers from the Orastery."
"They're full of it! I know i have met plenty of people who is a lot stronger than me!" *clenching fist* "There has to be a way to go beyond that level 50 you said, Lumin! >_<"
"But Shukie... the papers..."
She didn't let me finish that sentence. She turned around and started running. I ran trying to catch up with her. Thankfully i have longer legs than her :D
"Hey Shukie!" *pant* *gasp* "Shukie... where are you going?"
"I am going to Jeuno! I know there is an old man there who always have strong people hanging around him! >_<>
"But Shukie... wait just a second..."
"No! You can't stop me! I am going there! If you trust your books so much, you can stay here! >_<>
"But Shukie!... Shukie wait!"
"Now what?" *finally stopping, but frighteningly mad*
"If we are going to go to Jeuno, you are taking the wrong direction ^_- We need to go to the Port, not to South San d'Oria."
"uh... hehehe ^_^ *blush*"

After the necessary wait in the docks, and some wrong turns in Jeuno we finally reached the doors of the Archduke's chamber, in the Auroral Palace.
"Shukie, are you sure that the old man is inside the Archduke's bedroom?"
"What are you talking about? I wanna see the Archduke! :D"
*staggers* "Shukie... focus, please. The Archduke isn't even here!"
"Damn, Lumin, you're no fun!

We finally found the old man. He was Maat... that name rang a bell... and i am still trying to figure out why. As soon as we approached, he greeted us.
"Wow, two beautiful young ladies who are on their prime! I see you have raised to your bodily limits, hehehe."
For some reason, i didn't like how he said 'bodily'.
*whispering to Shukie* "Shukie, i think he is checking us out"
*whispering back* "Well, he should, to know how strong we are." *replying to Maat* "Whatever, old man... you know we have topped up our potential, but we want to get even stronger... i and i know you know something about it! >_<"
"Well, well, well, aren't you hasty? But i have to congratulate you for your instinct. Certainly, i can help you to go beyond your level... but..."
"But what, old man? We don't have all day, you know?"
"Hehehe, that's the spirit, alright! Well, i have a little challenge for you! ^_-"

And *sigh* that's how we got to have to look for 3 damned items: an Ancient Papyrus, an Exoray Mold, and a Bomb Coal. By then, i thought it was just a "fetch quest"... but no, not by a looooooooooong shot...

Saturday, 20 January 2007

A greeting to all my friends, and to all my readers.

Hi people!
Hellooooooooooooooooooooo?
Someone out there?
Oh well, i guess that right now noone can read this... i mean, i didn't post it yet :p lol
Anyway, if you are reading it, congratulations: you have infected my computer!

Nah, seriously ^_^ Welcome to my blog.
Why am i writing a blog? Well, i don't know... i just kind of like writing (Shukie knows this :D), and i would like to reflect here what happens to me in Vana'diel.
What is Vana'diel? Oh, it is the world created by Altana, the Goddess, in which we all live and go through exciting adventures... some days more exciting than others... like when you spend the whole day crafting, hehehe.

Oh yes, i am Luminariel, sorry for not having introduced myself before :D. I am a White Mage. What is a White Mage (whm from now on)? I am kind of a doctor, but without actual knowledge of medicine. Yeah, i know you meet people like that all the time in the hospital, but not that at all. I am a religious person, a believer in Altana. Altana, blessed be her name, created the 5 races of Vana'diel, who sprung from the 5 tears she shed over it when she saw her world lifeless. These 5 races are the proud and resilient Elvaans, the strong and wise Galkas, the industrious and versatile Humes, the dextrous and agile Mithras, and the intelligent and (extremely) cute Tarutarus.
And even nowadays, Altana keeps protecting her children, granting to those who invoke her holy name good health, strength and fortune. But not anyone's pleas can reach her sacred ears: it takes a most commited mind, who can channel their faith and made it reach her. That's us! the White Mages!

I love being a whm. Through all my life, since i was just a wee little girl, i wanted to help people reach Altana, and help Altana's blessings to reach people. I studied long years in the Cathedral... but that's another story. Other day i will talk to you about my childhood ^_^ Today, i just wanted to introduce myself to you all.
I hope to see you again soon, for soon (hopefully) i will have material for a new post... i am trying to succeed in the first test the old master Maat has proposed me... it's so hard! ;_;

See you, my friends! ^_^
A big kiss for you all! ^x^