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

[NaomiP]

The Sea of Clouds at sunset really is the best place to be, she mused to herself. The warm breeze that rolled by played with her hair and pulled gently at her fishing rod. The thought that "the warm wind is the love of everyone you have ever known, they are kissing you on the cheek!" crossed her mind, though she couldn't remember for the life of her where she might have heard something like that. Was it a Vanu teaching? It sounded like a Vanu teaching. She considered continuing with the mental goose chase, but decided her energy was better spent on the love the wind had carried to her, and allowed herself a small smile as memories of comrades came and went.

With the familiar sensation of a fish on the line, she planted her feet against the island beneath her and braced herself against a tug that threatened to snap the rod in half... but it was none other than the same moogle spirit she had caught four times now.

"I'm just feeding you dinner, aren't I?" she muttered disapprovingly.

It attempted to wriggle free, indifferent.

Throwing it back into the clouds below, she packed up her supply of crane flies and moved to the other side of the island, making herself comfortable between two ferns. Another tug -- a sky faerie this time, the last one she needed. She knew the sea butterfly was below her somewhere, but could only hope that it'd take an interest in the bait this time.

"What an intense face you've got on!" she could hear Sisipu laughing.

"Fishing isn't so serious, you know? It's passive, not active -- you're not hunting the fish, in a way the fish is hunting you! Ah, but not in a life-threatening way... most of the time. Just relax and let the water surprise you with what it’s got!"

She wondered if Sisipu also meant to include the clouds in what she said... or if Sisipu saw a cloudfisher in the small brown Miqo'te that happened to wander into the Fisherman’s Bottom that day.

Oh, a big tug! ...no, just another moogle spirit. But a different one this time, so she felt justified in calling it progress.

She wondered what Sisipu and Wawalago were doing now. She thought too of the Scions (she'd invited them all out fishing at least once, but was met with little interest) -- and moreover, even in the supposed peacetime following the Dragonsong War, how none of them could seem to catch a break except her. She immediately felt a small pang of guilt begin to gnaw at her, and the thought that she had already done so much as the Warrior of Light did nothing to quell it. This quiet time alone in the clouds, did she deserve it? Could she afford to rest on her laurels, let alone this grass?

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sun who, after much colorful fanfare on the opposite side of the sky, finally broke the horizon behind her. Feeling its warmth on the back of her neck, she withdrew her rod and packed up knowing that the sea butterfly had retreated to safety once more.

Another time, then.

(Ahriman Choker)

[xelliexell]

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.

[Pyshiro]

How strange a feeling. That when I first stepped foot into the dark, briny depths of the oceans, they met with me a plethora of emotions I could have never expected to feel. Known aptly to be named as the Tempest by its inhabitants, I found myself awestruck. A wonderous land beneath the waves. A small reminder of home, where the seas called my name and welcomed one’s embrace. Yes, it was much like La Noscea, and yet not completely the same.

Still, the nostalgia was there. And as I explored her depths, I found myself increasingly captivated. The deeper into the undersea caverns I went, the more the tugging in my heart pulled. As if I should be remembering something. A growing ache. Unable to understand it, I continued my journey into darker waters.

Until… at the very end of it… my eyes opened upon a new world. A city quite unlike any I had ever seen before.

With it, that ever-familiar pull from within.

“This place…” I could not help but murmur. “Why does it affect me so?”

Never before had my heart cried upon visiting a place so unknown. Never before had I ever felt so attached to any particular locale or person. Always the wandering soul, called upon to a new cause with each passing day. With little respite, mind you, but how else can I help it? When a world’s inhabitants calls upon your very name? How am I to ever ignore their pleas?

Yet this place… this city once called Amaurot… Suddenly my worries dispersed. The burdens on my shoulders relaxed. As if I were coming back to a home I once knew. In the back of my mind, I recognized her. But all the same, I could not place it as to why.
Standing in her enormity, her boundless landscapes… knowing it to be but an illusion, I yearned nonetheless. To remember. To learn her. To simply revel in this city that took my every breath. A multitude of questions burned from within, but none to answer for me. No one knew. Not even I.

None other but the very person who called me here… Only they could tell me why my chest hurt so deeply. Why I wanted nothing more than to throw it all away and find my reasoning for this place.

“How long its been since I last found myself so curious?” I remember laughing to myself.

Up until that very moment, I knew my place in the world. I could picture the direction it was bound to take. My role in it all, the savior of many, meant only to bring about countless heroics. Everyone depended on me. And I depended on them to point me in the right direction.

Just this once… I knew not what it was I was meant to do. A new experience with no predictable ending. How uncertain I was! Yet it was about time I chose my course, wasn’t it?

“Let us be about it then.”



(( Mandragora Choker ))

[wolfenways]

"You know what we have to do."

Clutching my trusted greatsword in hand, I could feel myself charge forward, the porcelain visages of the sin eaters all around me. A battle cry erupted from my breast, my tail lifting in excitement. I brought the weapon down upon the nearest lesser eater, hearing its form crunch before vanishing into particles of light. A soft, yet devilish smile rumbled from the darkness, the shadow of my "other self" positioned behind me.

"This is for us." Looking back at the blank faces of the eaters, I nodded, trailing the blade behind me. I raised it above my head, calling out a single word.

"Fray!"

(my choice for a prize would be the Noble Barding)

[Cuon]

T'was a bright sunny day as I walked the bridge over to the Kugane markets. My bags were filled with gil as I made way to purchase some last minute provisions before I took the trip back to Eorzea. However, as I peeked over my shoulder, I noticed a curious fellow running after me. The deranged lunatic sported a shining blue pig costume and was wielding a pair of long daggers. For a moment, I kept pace, and as soon as I rounded a corner off the bridge, I bolted while he gave chase. A bard at the time, I wasn't hardly confident in engaging in close quarters, and I dare not kick up a fuss in the city lest I have to sneak from the guards again.

I bolted through alleyways and streets, twisting and turning my path every which way all over the city. I even dove into an inn room to try and wait out the pursuit, but even then the blasted pig found his way to me, forcing myself to abscond through the open window. As a Miqo'te at the time, I found pride in my agility, so I set out for the tower in the middle of town. Practically jumping up the stairs to the second floor, I threw myself to the balcony and noticed some precarious beams lining the outside of the structure.

With no time to waste, I hopped up on my nimble legs and began scaling the outside of the tower. My footing was true and I hardly missed a step- a good thing considering the sheer drop below. However, this did not discourage my pursuer. I suppose in retrospect I should've realized he was a ninja on account of his weapons and likely to be adequately skilled in acrobatic maneuvers, but one can't blame me for the mistake on account of his outfit, surely!

Still, I climbed, knowing full well that if I just continued up the tower that he would surely catch up. However the farther I went, the more I looked to the top rather than down at the blue pig. This had turned into a challenge, not a flight for dear life. My pursuer, whether this was his original intention or not, seemed to feel much the same way. I caught myself lingering on certain steps of my climb just a hair to make sure he hadn't fallen. A sort of camaraderie settled within us as we gradually made our way to the summit, and after a good many more harrowing leaps of faith that I care to never ever repeat, the two of us stood proud atop the rooftop of the tower. The entire city and that beautiful ocean in view for malms around. We just enjoyed the view together for a moment or two, and I can't help but wonder if this was his original intention. And, for one last display to top his day's baffling actions, he jumped off the roof like a madman! I had a brief start, only to see him land with perfect precision upon a lantern down below. After much deliberation and probably a lack of self-preservation, I performed the maneuver as well to great success. At least then I didn't have to worry about getting down.

(Noble Barding for the prize)

[Wishful]

A slip of aged parchment rests within the bottle, neatly curled and held closed with a plain black ribbon. As you unfurl the letter, you catch an achingly familiar scent: something between the crispness of mountain air and the salt of a breeze coming off ocean waves.

To you, wherever you are:
A stranger once told me that time moves differently for everyone. I thought we’d spend forever out there, staring out at that endless expanse of clouds. Gods, but they went on forever, didn’t they? It was like nothing I’d ever seen before. You felt that way too, didn’t you? Everything was light, and new, and bright, and beautiful. It lasted only a moment but –

If I had but one wish, I would wish to save that feeling – bottle it, if you will – and preserve that moment forever. Alas, I only have this letter to send you.

‘Time moves differently for everyone.’ I wonder where your time has taken you. As for me, I’m still out there in the Sea of Clouds.

Yours,
E.

(Thank you for reading. If selected, prize choice is Gaelicap.)

[Alaccran]

To whoever finds this,

They told me to write my fondest memory of my adventure onto here. It's for a celebration of something or other I can't really remember, which should tell you how this will go. But, believe it or not, I knew exactly what memory I would write down the moment they told me.

In all honesty it'll be a disappointment to most. It's not anything like a grand triumph over an enemy that pushed me to the limit. Or acquiring a weapon that had only been heard of in legends. It's a simple one. An insignificant one in the grand scheme of things. But it is one I'll always look back and smile upon.

There's nothing I hated more than aether currents. Not that I hate what they provide, just that I dread having to find the sodding things. Compass and run, compass and run, over and over until I'm sure the mountains and fields that I crossed are laughing at my exhaustion. After what seemed like ages clearing out the Western Highlands, I was prepared to accept that I might just have to stick to the solid earth beneath me for the rest of my travels, I received a message from a dear friend.

"Would you like some help?"

My most trusted and smallest friend from my free company had heard of my grumblings from the residents of the land and decided to assist me in my quest to unlock the full potential of my newly acquired Black Chocobo. Not wanting to impose I refused politely, until she insisted that I accept her gracious offer and she would hear nothing else.

So there I was, riding on the back of a Ceremonial Chocobo, with my hands gently holding onto the body of my Lala companion as we ride in search of the sporadic currents. From the Churning Mists, to the Dravian Forelands and Hinterlands, to finally the breathtaking Sea of Clouds. All while making idle chatter along the way. Jokes that had been retold over and over that never get old. Stories from each of our own adventures, and some of our misfortunes. Even the most peaceful of silences as the wind rushes past us as we soar across the skies. With me carrying a full smile that never seemed to leave my face.

Once it was over and done with I dismounted and thanked my friend for the time she took for me before being met with a laugh. Pointing out that it in fact, took no time at all she told me to let her know if I needed any more help with currents in the future and with another whistle, she was gone. But my smile still wasn't.

Now if you haven't thrown this letter away by now or shoved it back in the bottle and into the sea you might be asking, "That's it?"

Yes. That's it. My fondest memory. Lost in all the massive battles and epic struggles are the little things in between. The little things that make me appreciate why I still wake up every single morning. The little things that make me warm even in the coldest of climates. These little things are what make my adventure worth it, and I hope it does the same for yours.

(ty for reading and bluebird earrings)

[Swilly]

Hullo Hero. Warrior of Light. Remember me? Do you not recognize this magnificently looping hand and these impeccably crossed t’s and dotted f’s? Yes, ‘tis I. Neither your best friend nor your worst enemy, but your very own Mr. In-Between, Nero Scaeva.

Seeing the hugga-mugga along the shores amid the aftermath of this year’s Moonfire Faire put me in a sentimental mood, the sort that provokes a journey in the same genre. Won’t you join me? After all, it is because of YOU that I am who I am today: A semi-unemployed transient who owes Cid Garlond an awful lot of money and also most of his life.

Hmm.

Our Sentimental Journey is NOT off to a good start, Hero, rather like our own “good start” when you ruined my life that night in the Praetorium. Well. That was a life that needed to be ruined, though mind you I am well capable of ruining it myself. But how, HOW does one THANK another for ruining their life? By composing an awkward missive on the back of this jam-sticky “Seashells of La Noscea” placemat? Then rolling it up, cramming it into an empty lager bottle and chucking it seaward with the hopes it can navigate the tide, find its way to you and you only?

Did it?

(If not, oi oi, spare me my pride and chuck it back into the surf, will you?)

Now one could say that, during our recent excursion, we performed a lot of ill-advised experiments that you probably regretted. But that is the Heart of Science! By now you must trust that Garlond Ironworks never makes the same mistake more than three times (maybe four). And despite the tears and triumphs, the injuries, the arguments, the leaky pens, the chocobo pox, the injuries (specifically involving the Thermocoil Boilmaster), and Garlondo’s ceaseless whinging, one could ALSO say that I did a spectacular job putting up with the whole lot. Would you not agree, Hero? Were you not impressed?

I mean, did you NOT have a jolly good time? At least until the whole thing went pear-shaped beyond the agency of our teakettle?

And did you NOT visit me in the hospital afterwards? Well. YES, but that was for the best. My frock was oh-so Mrs. Grundy, to say nothing of what the barbers did to my hair when they cut my skull open to stop my brain from dribbling out my ears or whatever.

But! Water under the bridge now. Anyway, before I bid my adieu, I only ask that the next time you hear the distant maniacal laughter of a Garlean pileated kookaburra, or take a dip in a mysterious crater filled to the brim with nuclear pink sludge, or get selected for jury duty for a criminal negligence trial involving Magitek-based home appliances (specifically teakettles), you will emit a tender little sigh and remember your dear old friend Nero Scaeva. Especially if a lawyer asks the prospective juror pool if anyone present is acquainted with a man by the same name.

By now, I have come to regard you as a right old goose. Take that as you will.

-Nero S.

(Prize: Gaelicap!)

[JaffaArchfiend]

The first time I truly felt like the hero everyone claims I was... was on the Steps of Faith facing the black dragon Nidhogg, a being of wrath and vengeance incarnate, the scourge of Ishgard... When it seemed that I had nowhere to turn to after the disaster in Ul'dah, Haurchefant took me in. Set me up as a ward of House Fortemps, gave me a place to stay, a new family when I thought mine was lost. Trusted me, his family trusted me... And this ancient terror sought to end it all. I could not allow that faith, that trust... that sacrifice to go in vain. To be tossed aside in the maelstrom of fire and death that this great wyrm sought to bring about... I was no warrior. I was a healer. A practitioner of conjury. I wasn't whom the great stories are told and retold about down the ages. But they still called me a hero. Their Warrior Of Light...

Ishgard desperately needed to heal. This dragon sought to keep the blood flowing. To keep the wounds open and sore. This I could not abide... and so, I walked across the Steps of Faith. I think I could almost hear the Dragonsong itself as I took each step closer to the black death of Ishgard that stood triumphant astride his brother, the white wyrm Hraesvelgr... The same dragon who had willingly sacrificed one of his own Eyes to grant me the power to face Nidhogg on equal footing. This ancient being who had seen what had come of man claiming a dragons eyes for power... whom had long mistrusted mortals for thousands of years. And yet, he placed his faith in me as well.

The Steps of Faith were well named indeed that day. Haurchefant, House Fortemps, Ser Aymeric, Hraesvelgr, Alphinaud, Tataru, Ysayle, Estinien and so many more. All had placed their faith in me. Their hero. Their Warrior Of Light. Their friend...

I took that faith, I took that trust, that hope, and I let it flow through me like aether. I may have stood alone against the Dread Wyrm in form, but in spirit and essence I was surrounded by all those I had met. All those that I had shared a drink with, a roof, a laugh, a campfire, a smile... Nidhogg was sustained by bitterness, by rage, by fury. I was his antithesis... Him a destroyer, myself a healer. For the first time since I became an adventurer in Gridania so long ago, a Scion of the Seventh Dawn through a quirk in abilities and nothing more, since becoming known as the Primal Slayer... even for the first time since defeating Lahabrea's schemes with the Ultima Weapon... For the first time, I truly felt worthy of the title that others had seen fit to thrust upon me. For the first time I felt like I really was a hero.

A Warrior Of Light.



(Noble Barding please if I'm selected. Thank you, and I look forward to ever more moments like this in the future of Final Fantasy XIV )

[Repulse97]

With Earthen Fury
Titan, a Primal of olde
In half, the Earth splits

This haiku embodies the very nature of that calamitous beast.

His Earthen Fury is unmatched by any other.

His Voice of the Land will blow away the strongest of heroes.

His Tumult shall break any party.

His Stonecrusher will render tanks defenseless.

And his landslides...oh, the landslides...

Responsible for the darkest of my nightmares and yet in those nightmares do I find bliss. Defeat after defeat. It leaves me only yearning for more! Crack, collapse, crumble the ground beneath me that I might fall into the abyss. I will keep returning, for one day I shall reign victorious over you. And when I finally best you, I shall summon you again and again to reciprocate all that which you made me feel.

I hate you...
I love you...
Titan

(If I get selected: Gaelicap :3c)