Memoirs of Adventure Creative Writing Contest (NA) - Discussion/Practice Thread

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Gladius' axe dug into the trembling earth as he was forced back, his teeth grit from the force of the blow as he was knocked backwards towards the edge of the ever-shrinking arena. Despite strength of arm and combat prowess, he felt himself flying back towards the edge unto an dizzying fall. Before he lost his balance, a pull of aetheric energy coiled out to him. He seized onto it desperately, trying to regain himself as Arioche's light pulled him back from the brink.

"I've got you!" she yelled, rescuing him from certain death. Her gown fluttered wildly with each stomp of the gigantic monster that stood before them.

Gladius shook the bells from his head, swinging his axe over his head before nodding to her and charging back towards the monstrous primal Titan, glowering down at him.
"The kobold's certainly didn't hold back this time..." He thought. They had triumphed easily twice before over the makeshift primal god of the ratlike species, but this time their desperation truly showed in the strength of this manifestation.

He raced past his friend Tatl, who looked to him worryingly as she continued to cast spell after spell with her reflection of the primal Garuda following form at her side. Despite their best efforts, the thrice-damned "god" would not fall. Gladius leapt forward, bringing his axe down across the chest of the stone monster.

There! A crack!

It seemed that his allies' efforts had not been in vain. They had managed to weaken the monster enough to bring forth it's stone heart. Gladius' axe ripped into the chest of the beast, wresting the heart free where all three heroes of light managed to concentrate their efforts into a single blast, shattering the beast's heart. The creature tottered, as aetheric energy bled from it, then finally fell.

A cheer rang out among the adventurers... finally... they had bested their toughest opponent yet.

(Thank you for reading my story, if I do qualify, my chocobo Alfred Von Chicklesby would love the Noble Barding. Special thanks to my fellow Warriors of Light Arioche Aristotle and Tatl Tael for bringing me into this world I love so much. Even if we're apart now, I'll always treasure our time then.)

https://img2.finalfantasyxiv.com/acc...65cd4381fa.jpg

Question, is it against the rules if a friend helps you illustrate your story?

Dear mother, dear father,

There is much and more I wish I could tell you, wish I could show you. It’s been so long since I’ve seen you both and held you both but I hope that you would be proud of me, of the things I’ve accomplished and the people I’ve given another tomorrow to. You would not believe the adventures I’ve gotten myself into recently and I imagine few truly would. Perhaps not even I would have had I not known all I do or experienced it for myself.

Recently I’ve visited a whole new world entirely, one where the night sky never graced, where stars never had the chance to twinkle or the moon to cast its soft light over the land. So hard is it to think of what to tell and yet fit it all to a single page but for the sake of telling you in person when next we meet I helped save this world. I helped banish the Light, helped the world know a cool nightly breeze and what it is like to gaze upon the stars for hours.

Yet what I wished to tell you the most here and now is of a place right out of the dreams of my youth and when the sun had arisen once more to a clear, beautiful sky. How I wish you both could see it. Imagine a forest with leaves of lavender and trunks with bark like silver without its luster, a spire of radiant blue crystal stretching high enough to scrape the heavens. Under that clear azure sky I could not help but walk, walk and let my mind wander with my feet.
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I walked and I felt a breeze once stagnant feel so cool and fresh upon my skin, felt the warmth of the sun like it is meant to be felt and I could not help but wonder what it must be like for someone to feel for the first time in their whole life like those here. As I walked I stumbled upon a ruin of ancient, crumbling stone and let my hand feel along the surface of the ages old wall.

It was there upon that stone I felt something right in the air, a certain peace and under that sky, in that woodland of beautiful purples, in this place where civilization once lived free I drew my lance and let my hands and feet move of their own accord. It felt right. To close my eyes and feel the weight of the metal in my hands, to let it carry me as if striking down foes already slain and feel the breeze upon my cheeks and in my hair.
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I know not how long I was there, meditating in a way I’m sure only you and I would truly know, father, but it helped me think and reflect and remember what I was fighting for. I kept at it until my limbs ached and my fingers throbbed and when I opened my eyes again to that truly awesome sight…

I miss you mother, your lullabies and the flowers you would tuck into my hair. I miss you father, your radiant confidence and never faltering smile. I’ve not forgotten you or the advice you’ve graced me with that every day I feel new meaning in. I have not given up on finding you. Until the day I can hold you both I will continue to write and to hope.

Your loving, ever caring daughter,
August

i remember when i first got to uldah it was a sunny day as always full of people running around and that parade that went wrong years ago remember? remember fighting to save someone after the parade went to heck in a hand basket ... it was odd to say the least hahahaha. but then again i think that event led me to belive that this place had more to offer than a single bunch of gobbues and mammets running around.. after that many things happen and many stories where writen.. unil dalamud fell from the skies... i still remember that day as if it was yesterday, friends and fc together fighting to repel the garlean empire from mor dhona and the main cities.. and who can forget the noble sacrifice of the people who made the gobbue wall possible those brave souls dedicated to protect uldah (or at least thats where i saw it and decided to join in) many years have come and go after that day.. and still lingers on my mind like if it was yesterday. but back in the day u and me never had that connection as we now have... after we finally got to know each other back in ishgard... remember when i told u to let me lead the way? and u as always said no? that day was something that i will not forget. but just u know i love you more than anything i this world... because together we beat twintania and put an end to nael once and for all.. we faced defeat many times.. we faced sadness countless times... we got our heart broken by who at the time we said that it was the love of our life... but we never gave up.. we never gave up... and yes Haruka i must say thank you for letting me be part of this story.. because u know? im happy that we get to see everything until the end and im happy that in some way of another i was part of it even in the smalles of things.. we not only overcome the bitterness of our hearts after we lost her... we not only overcome our grief of our mother... we get to see the end of a world together and the lenghts of how a man can go only to be remembered.... that for me are the fondest of memories i could ask for... and i hope u and me would be always together even if u decide not to let me come out and play.. and yes that trick u learnt doesnt count hahahaha.. anyways thanks for letting me write this down and feel alive again. remember how much i love you Haruka... ---------- Memories of my Darkside-------- (the prize i want if i win is the noble barding)

Have you ever met him? I speak of the most amazing man in all Hydaelyn.

I have only encountered him a handful of times, though in each meeting he displayed legendary poise and executed amazing feats. He was a man who could slay Primals -- nay, even the Ultima Weapon, itself -- with but a few swings of his weapon. Wheresoever he went, the mightiest of beasts could be found felled within his wake.

This is not to speak of his prodigious craftsmanship, which has produced objects of the highest quality, time and again. I’d heard that he quickly rose above his peers in the guild -- peerless, absolutely -- and that his art has single-handedly saved many an unfortunate scenario.

His skills are only overshadowed by his kindness. When asked, he has helped everyone from children to The Sultana, arriving when summoned and charitably assisting without any real regard for payment. When people say that the Realm would be lost without him, it is no exaggeration.

All of this does not even touch on the many social skills he has mastered, taking to the most complicated modes of dance with ease. Everyone who has witnessed his movements cannot help but note the palpable emotion found within each step. His very presence is larger than life, shining as a beacon to all who gaze upon him.

The Warrior of Light? No, I’m the Warrior of Light, you see. I hope I haven’t created an embarrassing misunderstanding.

The man I speak of is named Godbert Manderville.

3,000 characters is the limit right?

The sun had just begun to set as I arrived at the Forgotten Springs. The legendary Hamon Holyfist was already waiting for me there. He had approached me earlier in the day to have one final match before his battle with Weggfarr Wideaxe. We stretched, warmed up, and just as the sun began to touch the horizon we began.

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He started slow, attacking only when he saw an opening. It was difficult to block or dodge because of the accuracy of the strikes. It was like this for a few moments, but then our bodies began to limber up. The heat of battle let us strike faster and harder with each blow. Our minds became sharper trying to get the upper hand on one another.

Suddenly I was hit with ten blows within a second. Surprised, I stepped back. I could see only focus in his eyes as he shot forward for the next attack. That’s when I knew I was in trouble. His fists were almost a blur as the flurry began and it kept getting faster. Strike after strike I struggled to defend myself through the onslaught. There must have been a hundred blows before I finally saw the moment to strike and with one clean punch to the jaw, I finally stopped the barrage. He called the match there as we were both clearly exhausted. If it had gone on even a moment longer I wouldn’t even be conscious.

It was astonishing to experience. In that fight, in that moment, he had returned to his former glory. I couldn’t believe how overwhelmingly powerful he was despite his age and where he had started. It was as if he was a completely different person, but that just goes to show you Hyur tenacity. We can make the impossible possible just by believing in ourselves and staying strong through the tough times. I’ll never forget that moment nor the lesson I learned that day.

https://img2.finalfantasyxiv.com/acc...3899318fa7.jpg

Countless memories I have of my life in Eorzea I would put pen to paper on; nearly three summers’ worth, in fact. However, I feel moved to recount my tale of a foray into Dzemael Darkhold and how I inadvertently caused what should have been an otherwise mundane run to go horribly wrong by my own hand. A curious memory to choose above all else to be sure, but for one reason or another few stories bring a retrospective smile to my face like this one.
I was a fledgling adventurer then. We had entered Dragonbreath Falls in the Darkhold, the place you cannot spell without D-A-N-G-E-R on its sheer cliffs. I had known that the Bone Nixes – almost as if they had been strategically placed there on the cliffside – had a tendency to knock adventurers off with their Labored Leaps. I had no intention of being such an adventurer, until I discovered too late that my toe was caught in the line of attack. To make the situation even more damningly awkward, my back was not facing the wall.
I tumbled down the cliff and hit the bottom faster than I could shout out any sort of profanity. Above me, my party did not seem to notice my fall and were moving on ahead. As one of the two damage dealers in the group, I was absolutely unexpendable. I had to get back to them quickly.
I was only vaguely aware of the beasts along my path, and in my haste I neglected to remember that dungeon monsters worked differently from those in the overworld in that your very existence is so offensive to them that once they’ve begun to chase you, you could run to the ends of Hydaelyn and they will not relent until one of you is dead.
As I ducked into the cavern with my team members at long last in sight, I finally looked over my shoulder and realized that every last beast – along with their mothers – had followed me up. I turned back and attacked the other monsters my party was already fighting with a peculiar calm, as though ignoring the grisly fate quickly approaching us would make it all go away.
It did not.
I recall the last haunting words of our healer, wrought with so much terror that any and all punctuation was bereft in their tone…
”what the”
”where did all the enemies come from”
We were slaughtered as sheep before the wolf… Blessed with the Echo as we were however, death was but a fly to be brushed from our shoulders. The story is not without its happy ending of course, we cleared Dzemael of its ghastly denizens without further tragedy. My embarrassment over the incident long since passed, I look back on it and laugh knowing how far I’ve come since then. Though I likely will never see those people again, I can’t help but wonder if they remember and look back on it with a similar fondness?
(If my tale is worthy of a commendation, I would like the Ahriman Choker, which in its resemblance to the All-seeing eye makes a fitting commemoration of my (mis)adventure through the Darkhold.)

Edit: Submitted, thanks!