Roleplay Recap: Week 16
Katja
Our week begins with Katja meeting up in Ul’dah with T’Shira Rihll so the two of them could catch up on events circling around Rihad and the Vanguard Company. Katja’s own delving into the various public records revealed that Rihad and his cohort spent an ample amount of time adventuring in the area, having spent a year completing various levies until they just stopped taking payments. Still, they continued to work together for nearly two decades before the paper records for them stop — as if they’d stopped adventuring together as a team all of a sudden.
Some fifteen years later, Rihad’s name resurfaces but this time as a dispensary of such levies and quests but only one person ever seems to accept them. The name itself is expunged, but there is one missed reference to a “he” in an overlooked record. It was a small clue, a glimmering of the needle within the haystack, but it was still enough of an ember to fuel the miqo’te’s seeking fire.
For her own part, T’Shira had little to add that Katja didn’t already know. Vincere Northfield was clearly compromised and desperate, rushing headlong into defeating Rihad with an obsession that bordered on reckless, no matter how much she tried to reassure T’Shira that the Vanguard was being careful. The lack of answers and the mounting feeling of desperation within the Vanguard led to both of them feeling pretty frustrated.
Ultimately, they decided that the best course of action for them would be to continue their investigations into Litany, in hopes that finding out his connection to Rihad would bear fruit and offer them some kind of reassurance that the Vanguard wasn’t headed face-first into some kind of trap or set-up that would damage their reputation — or their members — beyond repair.
Rather than dwell on problems within the Vanguard that they were helpless to derail, the pair of them went on to focus on planning and chatting about a trip to the Gold Saucer that the two of them were to have with their other best friend, Valeria Camena on the morrow.
☼
As planned, the trio met in the Gold Saucer a night later and spent the evening playing the games and enjoying each other’s company. Much to everyone’s surprise, T’Shira placed second in pretty much all of the games they played, while Valeria and Katja alternated on who got first and last. Monster Toss was definitely not Katja’s game, but Cuff-A-Cur certainly was. Huzzah for pent-up aggression!
The night came to a swift end, however, once Valeria’s house-coeurl, Nyx, started making trouble for his coeurl-sitter. Valeria was hastily called away, and T’Shira and Katja didn’t feel right continuing without her. Still, it made a wonderful night for them all and a much-needed break from all the worry and frustration surrounding the Vanguard.
Lafiel
Lafiel, along with her steadfast paramour, Koh’li Nbolo made the journey to Idyllshire at last where they’ve spent time in the bosom of the Elumenel family. The miqo’te had opportunity to meet Lafiel’s parents and her several siblings, finding them to be a common, relaxing people — given that they are naught but simple shepherds. He was treated to many stories of Lafiel’s childhood, as well as their flight from the ravages of Nidhogg.
Most importantly, however, at least to Koh’li was the opportunity to meet and speak with her mother, Gwenaelle. As the matriarch of the Elumenel family, Koh’li felt that in order to court Lafiel properly he had to obtain the blessings of her mother. It took the miqo’te some time to muster his courage, but he finally did manage it. In the course of trying to obtain it, however, he and Lafiel’s mother both recalled a time when the Elumenels were given the opportunity to save a morbol-poisoned, young miqo’te that had stumbled into their farm from the Orn Wilds. Koh’li on his coming-of-age journey.
He’d encountered young Lafiel then, only once, before her parents sequestered the miqo’te to recover unsure how the half-wild youngling would react to the strange environs. Yet, it was a memory that stayed with Koh’li for the rest of his life, until one day, in Gridania he met again the blue-haired young woman with the striking amber eyes, reminiscent of the tree leaves at the turn of autumn.
♫
On another return trip to Ul’dah, Lafiel had a wandering roegadyn hear the song she was composing for Litia and sat with the minstrel for a time. Syhransa Zwynahrwyn made for amiable company for most of the evening as Lafiel did her best to answer the roegadyn’s many questions. All-in-all, the conversation was quite intriguing for the musician, hearing about the roegadyn’s homeland in the far north amid the Rhotano Sea, or her unusual upbringing in what sounded like a child army.
A brief altercation between a nearby miqo’te and elezen momentarily drew Mesa Kha into Lafiel’s orbit, but the xaela quickly disappeared into the miasma of her own acquaintances. It seemed Syhransa was also ready to leap to the elezen’s defense should things go awry, but the roegadyn’s greatsword went unneeded through Mesa’s expert diffusion of the tension.
Later on in the night, she was once more joined by Koh’li whereupon the two of them engaged in some philosophical discussion about the nature of Man’s existence with a strange, winged viera. (Creation Divine) It struck a chord in Koh’li, however, that Lafiel had never seen before. Koh’li spoke more words to the bizarre hare than he’d ever spoken to anyone other than Lafiel and all of them passionately vehement in his reprisal against the viera’s claims.
The following night saw Lafiel with a night off to herself as Koh’li tended to some business with the Adders, so she made her way to the Bel Canto Winery where she knew that Sorkhaghtani Kagon was performing along with some of her friends. It was a rousing evening of performances where Lafiel had ample opportunity to sing and dance the night away with the rest of the crowd, including new acquaintances courtesy of Sorkhaghtani in the forms of the charming viera, Evaki Harrow, and the raen, Micaiah Lightsworn.
♫
After the performances ended and the Bel Canto doors closed, Lafiel spent further bells in the company of the trio as they tried to soothe Sorkhaghtani’s frazzled nerves. As it so happened, the performance that evening was to be Sorkhaghtani’s last for some time as she tried to reignite her own love and passion of song, something she’d lost along the road to fame and popularity. The three of them plied Sorkhaghtani with comforting honey and lemon tea to soothe her voice, and words of encouragement and hope to soothe her frayed nerves. Whether or not they were successful would remain to be seen, but Sorkhaghtani departed their company with a smile, so that was enough for Lafiel. Taking herself away, she boarded the airship for a layover in Ul’dah on her way back to Koh’li.
In Ul’dah, she tried to resume her work on the lyrics for the song she was writing for Sorkhaghtani’s lost friend, Litia, but she found the lyrics eluding her. She spent some time speaking to a kindly viera, Ashton Corvinus, a far-traveler that advised her to simply remember what and who she was composing for and draw from their inspiration to create something great. The charming traveler offered his rather lofty ears as consideration for an audience, once Lafiel finished her composition, before she presented it to Sorkhaghtani — an unbiased audience she was glad to receive. Koh’li would undoubtedly listen, but the Keeper would always think her songs a triumph, which was endearing in its own right.
She frittered away another few bells in the company of various people as they drifted through her orbit. Mizuki Tsuwamono listened to her incomplete rendition of Litia’s Elegy before they were joined by Narmandakh Malqir and Khona’tol Awandah. Somehow, in the course of it, she finished the song which brought tears even to her own eyes as she did so. She only hoped it was worthy.
Khona was so inspired by Lafiel’s story, by her virtue and determination in her desire to sing and tell only the truest songs and stories she knew that the miqo’te offered to dance alongside her at her next performance. There were silly and serious conversations to be had as the night wore on, but all-in-all, it was spent in merry company and laughter. A fitting end to an enjoyable evening.
It was quite a time in roleplay this week! I certainly hope you enjoyed being along for the ride. My heartfelt thanks go out to all those who made these experiences possible, as always. You’re all a treasure, each of you, every one. Eorzea wouldn’t be the magical place it is without you.
