Memoirs of Adventure Creative Writing Contest (NA) - Official Entry Thread

One of my fondest memories was experiencing player vs player competition of Frontline. So many amazing combinations on the field of battle, and here I was a paladin still trying to learn my new abilities. Sadly, we lost the first few matches, but my teammates didn't overreact but help others to improve. Giving tips and suggestions on strategy to help our team to improve with every match. Frontline because the enjoying the moment of competition, rather than focusing on the end game results. I now wear Golden Wolf armor i earned with pride and focus on helping my new teammates to enjoy the world of player vs player competition as much as I have. It is a great reminder, that the greatest people that lead you to victory, were once following others!

Game Prize: Noble Barding

ark_solace
I have walked the world for many years now but through it all, I remember one thing more fondly than any other. My friends. As a fledgling, unarmed and unknowing of Eorzea, I found a highlander woman amongst the streets of Uldah who took me in and taught me how to survive. In time, however, she went away and I was left again to wander. For a time I did so but the solitary life began to weigh on me. Then I found others. A couple fighting off a great bird in Coerthas, a mi'qote girl and her love. I helped them and in turn they followed me into the dark and dangerous world of Ishgard. In time those hallowed halls fell and again I wandered alone through the world, until again I was found. An Au'ra couple who were as world traveled as myself helped me stand up against dragon and voidsent alike. Together we protected Ishgard and brought down the devilish Diabolos. They did not follow me across the sea. I stepped into the lands of Doma alone but I was not alone for long. A lalafell found me in the midst of the resistance and I joined his armada. Never had I seen so many allies at my side. I stayed with them a time. Though I now walk with others I remember them all. My friends from long ago, gone away, will be with me always and when the voidsent, the sin eaters, the Garleans rear their ugly heads I stand not as one, but as them all. They stand with me, each having taught me something different, something special. Each gave me a gift I will never forget. Friendship, each unique and valuable to me.

(Game Prize: Scarf of Wonderous Wit)

To the One Who Walked Before,

Perhaps you know everything I would think to say in this letter—you and I share that gift, to know something of the whispers of the soul. But I have had reason of late to think of legacy, and what will endure after we’re gone.

Do you remember when we met? I doubt it, and you give no sign—I was then to you but one of the hundreds you had helped. I counted it chance, but it was rather more your doing, wasn’t it? After all, I never would have come running for a pet bear if you hadn’t made it your mission to hand them out. When I asked why, your answer was simple: Because everyone deserves a friend.

It wasn’t until I saw the mark on the back of your neck that I understood.

You come from a harder world, in some ways. You have told me of it, of this world which no longer exists, enduring only in the memories you choose to share. Before I ever dreamed of crystals and calamities, you were there to provide for your fellow adventurers: to arm them, yes, to mend their gear; but more than that, to make sure that everyone had a friend.

Sometimes I picture you in Ul’dah—the Ul’dah that once was, different from the one where I find you now—and in my vision you are offering a frightened child a toy bear to hold onto while the red moon looms like a bruise in the sky.

Is it the Echo, I wonder, or imagination?

The world is different now. You are different now; I am different now. But I have been changed, too, by the knowledge that once there was a hero who put himself between Eorzea and the Empire— the Meteor—total destruction. And when he awoke in a world far different than the one he tried to save, he was still resolved to help.

It falls to me to protect them now. You are not bitter about this; you have been my solace and support for longer than you know. Perhaps since the day the Warrior that was told the Warrior that is that she deserved a friend. Each time I saw you, you brought me a smile. Each time I see you with others, you bring them the same. I guard their bodies, yes. You do something far more important than you give yourself credit for. You guard their hearts.

I am glad that you have been part of my adventure. I know you do not do this for my approbation, and perhaps for me to say all of this so directly would only embarrass us both. But perhaps you would smile. I like to think you would. I like to think this letter, cast adrift into a stream that I have not known you to visit, will find you anyway. I know it is only imagination when I picture you reading it. When I think that these words might repay some of the joy you have given to others. In the end, all I really have to say is this: thank you.

Thank you for being the hope of the realm. Thank you for being my hope.

Ever with you in the light of the Crystal,
One Who Walks After

[Character: X’shasi Kilntreader@Mateus || Prize: Noble Barding]
[And a very special thanks to Baro Llyonesse for everything he’s done.]

How do I choose a single memory from an ocean of countless joy? It's difficult. Eorzea is home to a precious part of my life. It has led me to meet people I hold dear; it has taught me lessons, the greatest being of myself; and it is a source of immeasurable joy.

Nonetheless, there is one, perhaps mundane, that I eternally reminisce with smiles.

I can't place less vital details - such as color scheme, or the music that played. Were the flowers shades of red and pinks, or were blues and purples chosen? I don't know. What I won't forget was the excitement before the moment, hands joined with nervousness - and contrariwise. It's easy to confuse the two.

I wondered then, if this is how I would feel for my real wedding.

We invited friends, and nearly all attended. Another detail I can recount - everyone present. There's a gentle joy that lingers from being surrounded by dear people, as you partake in a euphoric memory shared with your love.

The preparations before the ceremony, together in the room, are a blur. We had ourselves a few moments to settle our nerves before we rang the bell.

My gown was midnight-blue; matching blue roses adorned my head with the veil swirling to my ankles. I'd chosen only one ring as an article of jewelry - a ring he had crafted for me. In my arms, a matching bouquet of roses.

As for him, he donned a suit of red and black, and...Pince-nez glasses.

I still makes me giggle.

The walk to meet our officiant was steady. I avoided glancing closely at those watching, too shy. However, my heart swelled happily.

If you asked me to repeat the words spoken, I honestly couldn't in specifics. I simply remember how the vows and the exchange of rings made me feel. Unmatched joy and endless love for the person I was marrying. Those feelings remain within my heart even now.

We kissed, to seal the marriage. I imagined what the kiss must have felt like. Eyes closing, distance shortening until touch, and then - soft, warm love promised between lips.

Thus did the rose marry the iris.

Only in time would I experience it outside of imagination. A couple years since that day, and I didn't know it then, but my in-game marriage was only the beginning. We stayed together. Our love strengthened as our bond grew. Until, recently, we tied the knot in real life.

I felt an echo in the moment of our kiss of promised love, one that took me back to that day of game marriage, and I knew - the marriage within Eorzea was a pathway to forever with my love.

I have never loved a person - never imagined I could - as much as I love my husband.

Final Fantasy XIV brought me to meet my husband, soul mate, and best friend. Thank you, Square Enix. Thank you for creating the world of Eorzea and everyone within. I met my true love because of you.

And so does our real life adventure go on, forever intertwined with the adventures of Eorzea.

(If selected, I would like to have the Gaelicap)

My existence, though feigning, has all but brought me here today to tell you of my fondest memory of that day. That day of the calamity rung down onto us by the unholy serpent fiend Bahamut himself. Myself along with seven other Warriors of light endured a trial of tribulations and wardens such the likes of Nael and Twintania as we fought our way through exhausting hours to finally confront the beast incarnate himself. The revelation of Bahamut was epic as the behemoth of a dragon through a sky lit alflame, breaks out of his prison chains and descended onto the party with a strong desire of malice. He opened attack onto us with different breaths of colorful fire, lighting up the already bright stage we had to face him on. Comrades fell left and right to the scorching blasts it had to offer us but alas with the last of my strength I could muster, I managed to channel all my energies into one final attack; the Dragonsong Dive. I felt it, the anger, aether, sadness, swirling inside of me in an explosion of blue flames taking the form of a dragon, empowering the tip of my spear as I plunged it straight into the creatures heart thus ending its reign of terror! It felt so surreal, a bitter sweet sadness to yeah comrades and I have fallen the beast, but what else is in stored for us in the future? I'll never forget how good it felt, the sense of accomplishment we had..
Thank you denizen of Eorzea for listening to this wanderer's tale. I, Noctis Rhapsodos, leave the future of Eorzea in your hands.

Final Omega: A Haiku

One Percent Enrage
Frustration; Anger. RESOLVE!
We cleared the next day

\o/

[scarf for prize]

Dear Dairy,
I think back on the raid of yesterday, and it all started with this healer that refused to stop jumping up and down. When asked why she was jumping she said we were supposed to jump, jump, jump!

So we all started jumping as good healers are hard to find, after about ten minutes everyone stopped but being bored I typed up the colors I saw. Everyone in that group got the joke, so there after for the next two months trying to see who had run with the healer and if she had kept doing it, I would at the start of the dungeons type the colors I saw. Some times people freaked out and clearly what ever the color meant to them was clearly something else, and the rumors going around the server were some of the funniest things to read in chat.

No one seemed to know who started it and I added oiled by pointing out that the jumpy fairy was jumping before I ran a pick up raid with her.

So my fondest memories was the players reactions to what because a server wide raid, and sillier as months went on. I even stopped playing for two months to see if it had developed a life of itʻs own. It was down right simple and some people started saying colors at the start of runs, and it was fun to try and guess what people thought the colors meant originally. Which was the socks of characters in the order they were jumping. The puns though were made it funnier as time went on because everyone who got the joke made a reference to it using puns, also known as play on words.

So I leave with the last one, green, blue, blue, red, purple, pink, yellow, and rainbow.

A petite platinum blonde miqo’te woman kneels before her hingan desk in her Lavender Beds apartment. In hand, a quill dipped in ink dances across a piece of parchment. An empty glass bottle with a cork lay close by her read to hold the note once completed. It reads:

Dear Mother,

It has been years since you have departed Eorzea from your illness and do I miss you still with each passing day. I wish that I was able to tell you of all the amazing adventures I had and all the people who I have grown close to but this will have to do.

I have continued dancing and with every step it reminds me of you. The dungeons you told me about when I was a young child are just as great as the stories. There have been many more dungeons discovered since your passing and I have yet to explore them all. One day though, I hope to see them all with friends and family I have accumulated along my travels.

Leon and his wife, Constance, took me under their wing not too long after I lost you. They spotted me in the Adventurers Guild in New Gridania sipping on some grape juice at a table all by myself. They are kind and I consider them like a brother and sister. Y'shalva I bumped into each other when I join the guild she was apart of. She is sweet, though she has a sassy side which can be quite entertaining at times. Last, but certainly not least, is my husband Feo. I can already hear you squealing out of joy that your little girl finally allowed someone to get close to her. We were introduced by Leon during a dungeon raid and he teased me on the way I danced around the boss room. From that point forward, he assisted me in honing my skills as well as helping me get the gear I needed to protect myself from the harmful beasts as the dungeons got harder. We grew closer through these experiences and bonded not long ago. He treats me well and along with all of the others, protects me. We look after each other and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I hope this helps your soul rest easy since you were worried about me before you departed. Know that I am well taken care of and I will write to you again soon.

I love you,
Valinnah

She finalizes it with her signature, setting the quill back into the ink beside her. She reads through it, smirking softly as tears ran down her cheeks. Taking a deep breath she rolls the parchment up and stuffs it into the bottle, stuffing the cork into the neck to seal it off. She raises from her place at her desk and walks out of her small apartment, heading for the sandy beaches of Costa del Sol with her message in hand.

(If I win, I wish to obtain the earrings or barding please.)

I joined the FFXIV community just before Stormblood. I was a White Mage that took their job seriously. If someone died on my watch, I felt a personal failure.

Ah, Cape Westwind, quite a tale hangs on it. Cape Westwind being the first 8 man content I knew meant that I would need to be at the top of my game. So, I snuck around as I needed to and managed to get the magical message, "Cape Westwind now accessible."

After making sure I had the right food and hyperventilating appropriately, I queued into the Duty Finder. The normal insta-que occurs, well I am a healer, and into the cut scene I go. Coming out of the cut scene I observe everyone heading for the boss. I pop my food and locate a good spot to go to work from. As I arrive at my chosen location and prepare to cast my first spell, the fight ends and seconds later I find myself on an empty battlefield.

'What the hell just happened?' I learned a valuable lesson, things are not always what they seem, not even in Eorzea.

I would like the Gaelicap if I win.

I was logging rosewood logs near the Hawthorne Hut when the call came. I tried to enjoy the work, the feeling of physical labor, the sound the axe made against the tree, but only the presence of my friend from my Free Company made the work bearable.

I called him Uri, but that wasn’t his full name. Despite the face he was a Miqo’te like me, I found his name uneasy on my tongue. He called me Toby. Together we worked on gathering logs to make into lumber.

“Anyone available to help with maps?” came the call over the Free Company chat line.

I ignored it. I was still relatively new to the game, despite just reaching the higher levels of adventuring. My focus had been moving through what the Scions had requested of me, gaining more and more experience. As far as I knew maps were just what you pulled out to see which way you were heading.

“I need a few more for maps!” came the cry again. It was from Dani, a senior member of the group.

“Want to do maps, Toby girl?” Uri asked me, pausing the work of gathering logs.

“What do I do?” My muscles clenched and I bit my lip.

“Gear up your bard,” he said, “and put away the axe.”

Truth be told, I loved singing songs and shooting arrows far more than I liked whacking at trees for their bounty. We geared up.

As we got closer to the coordinates, I blinked, confused. Right there in the middle of the zone was a glowing portal. I had never seen anything like it before! While it glowed around the edges, the center of the oval was blacker than night. Were we going in there?

“Everyone ready?” Dani asked.

Affirmatives sounded. I found myself in dissolved into blackness. When light returned to my world, I stood inside a circular chamber with my party mates. One large circle dominated the center, several smaller ones were around the outside. “Here we go!” Dani announced.

One circle lit up, and then the one next to it, faster and faster, then slower and slower until the light hit upon a certain blue circle. It was like a game in the Gold Saucer!

A song of announcement played, and we had landed on something called a Lesser Summon. I pulled out my bow and aimed it at the mob. One shot, two, singing a song to support my fellow adventurers. I soon became involved in the mechanics of barding. The monster was soon down.

We spun again. Purple. What mob will this be, I wondered?

But the party groaned.

Atomos. He arose from the platform in a swirl of dark smoke. We spun and twisted in a great wind, headed directly into his mouth.

The world went dark once more.

Sometimes the maps seem cruel, denying portals, or letting us in only to be instantly kicked out by the ever-watchful Atomos. Others they are generous, with those of us who participated walking away with the sounds of gil in our pockets.

Though I have participated many times since, my heart still skips in anticipation when Uri asks me, “Want to run some maps?”