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Reintroduction

Timeline: 2.0 beginning

Mayhem Moondrop returns to Gridania for the first time in a decade, looking for a fresh start as a registered adventurer.

(I'm posting this during FFXIV Write, but it's not an entry; instead, I'm going to pin it as an introduction to my Warrior of Light.)

Luckily, they were too surprised by the sight of the Moogle, so soon after waking from another dizzy spell, to react to it out loud. As they watched it bob in the air and steal the wine of the merchant who’d joined them at an earlier stop, it became clear that they were the only one on the cart who was seeing it, and they didn’t want to start the process of returning home by convincing onlookers that they were prone to conversing with thin air.

“Have you chanced to witness anything suspicious, kupo?” The little creature hovered and dipped anxiously in the air, and after a moment’s consideration Mayhem shook their head, hoping their fellow travelers would think they were still clearing away the cobwebs. They knew what Moogles were, of course, having grown up in Gridania as a child and heard plenty of stories about them, but they’d never glimpsed one up close, and certainly never before been able to see through the glamours that concealed them when they didn’t want to be found. Maybe that, too, was related to the strange dreams and dizzy spells they’d begun having after the Calamity a few years ago? The fits had only grown more frequent when they’d returned to the Shroud’s denser aether, enough so that they’d decided to take this carriage for the final leg of their journey back to their childhood home.

The Moogle seemed disappointed but not surprised by this response, and flitted off into the woods after a bit more chatter: Mayhem watched them go, hoping that they’d have a better opportunity to converse in the future without looking like they were losing touch with reality.

The gregarious merchant who sat across from them had by this point moved past the sudden inexplicable emptiness of his wine bottle, and resumed engaging them in conversation. Bremondt, as his name turned out to be, seemed a pleasant enough fellow to pass the time with, and as the two young Elezen tucked into a corner of the cart didn’t seem eager to join in with any stories of their own, Mayhem was soon caught up in laying out their pre-adventuring background for him. They explained about the theater troupe they’d traveled with before the Calamity, first as a guard, then as a stagehand, and eventually taking small parts onstage as well. “Unfortunately, the Calamity made things too difficult for us to keep on as a group,” they sighed. “I admit I’ve been a bit at loose ends ever since; coming here to register as a guild adventurer seems like the best idea I have for a fresh start.”

“Plenty of folks lookin’ for just that, these days,” Bremondt agreed. “Did your traveling theater band ever come by Gridania, or is this your first time down this way?”

Now, Mayhem hesitated. The players had been on their way back to Gridania for the first time in a few years when the Calamity had struck, having picked Mayhem up on their previous pass through the region, before they’d hit their full growth and back when they were still going under their childhood name. So they hadn’t traveled here with the troupe, but it was far from their first time being here among the trees. Not that they felt they owed a near-stranger like Bremondt the entire truth of their story, but was it really worth coming up with a lie over something so minor?

Luckily, the man seemed to have taken their pause as a response in and of itself. “Ah, don’t mind old Bremondt,” he answered, waving off his own question. “Everyone’s got a couple dozen things they want to keep to themselves, don’t they? I don’t need to pry into what your history with the place is or isn’t, but let me update you on the latest developments, as someone who runs these roads pretty regular-like.”

Mayhem let him go on a bit about the state of the roads and the forest, the beast tribes and the merchant guilds. It had been almost a decade since they’d left the city - maybe more than that, with how hazy time had gotten for a little while in the immediate wake of the Calamity. Most of the guilds had been handed over from the masters they remembered growing up to one apprentice or another; everyone had known Beatin was the only real candidate to take over the Carpenters’ Guild, but there had been a bit of rivalry among the leatherworkers, and it was interesting to learn that the haughty and exacting Geva had been the one to come out on top in the end.

Not that they were going to let on to anyone just how well they knew these people. They’d changed enough in both name and appearance that they didn’t expect to be recognized as anything but a newcomer, and so a newcomer was what they would pretend to be. Instead they chimed in politely just enough to encourage Bremondt to keep carrying on as the carriage wound its way up toward the gates of the city, until at last they rolled to a stop.

“And here we are, lad,” Bremondt said, dismounting from the cart with a grin. “Didn’t mean to talk your ear off quite so much, but I hope some of it helped you get settled. I’ll be headed for the markets and then back on the road once I’m done there. If you don’t mind, what’s the name I should be listening for the next time I come? There’s something about you, I don’t doubt you’ll be the talk of the town soon enough.”

Mayhem grinned back at him and jumped down as well, then bowed with a flourish. “Neither lad nor lass, actually, but always a performer to the core. My name is Mayhem Moondrop, and I do indeed mean to be memorable.”

Steer

Timeline: Early 2.0, Gridania quests

Mayhem has just proved their worth as an adventurer, and Kan-e-Senna has a bold offer to make in a show of respect.

“Though you’ve been away for some time, I’m sure a child of the forest can’t have forgotten the Greenbliss festival,” the elder Seedseer explained sweetly. “In thanks for your efforts, I would ask that you fulfill the role of Emissary in the ceremony. Would you do this for me?”

“Me?” Mayhem was startled by the request to say the least. The Emissary of the Greenbliss ceremony was humanity’s representative to communicate with the elementals; to play this role before the population of the capital and not some outlying village’s version would be a great honor, certainly. But there would be talk: unlike some adventurers, a Moon Keeper was not truly an outsider to the forest, but neither were they welcomed by the people of the city. Their traditional hunting activities were seen as disruptive and likely to call down the elementals’ wrath, never mind that those traditions had existed for as long as Gridania had, and the Miqo’te clans who practiced them had never been wiped out by the Greenwrath.

Mayhem had no particular interest in being a part of traditional Moon Keeper culture themself, but the citizens of Gridania would have no way of knowing that. For Kan-e-Senna to put them on the stage and declare them as worthy of being Emissary as any other citizen of the forest was a bold and controversial move, and as they met her eyes, Mayhem could see a determination that said she knew exactly what she was doing. “You’re sure of this,” they said, less in question and more in confirmation. “You want a Keeper of the Moon to represent Gridania.”

“If you’re willing,” she nodded firmly. “I know what I’m asking, and you’re free to refuse if the spotlight is too much - but I was given to understand you’re a performer, yes?” Her smile sharpened just a little. “I believe such a show of unity will guide public opinion to be more gracious toward those who have been excluded in the past. Won’t you help me put one on?”

Mayhem grinned back at her just as sharply. “Who am I to decline such an honor from the Elder Seedseer herself? I’d be delighted.” Just imagining all the sour-faced traditionalists in the audience would be more than enough motivation.

You're the wrong I need