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

[Ashe_Viterri]

It had all started when I met the miqo'te Nashu Mhakaracca. She had been so desperate to find her missing partner (boss?) that I could not help but oblige. She seemed so sincere. Following her to the Sagoli Desert and unceremoniously beating up a few gentlemanly zombies, that's when I met him (and learned Nashu was a pyromaniac).

The man...

The legend...

Hildibrand Manderville.

I was in awe! I was inspired! I was...A little weirded out but I knew I was in the presence of a legendary inspector. And thus he took me on the weirdest adventure I had ever been on. Missing jewels! A purple octopus! A red man named Gilgamesh! It was all so exciting.

And at the end of it all?

Even I became a little bit more....

Gentlemanly.



(if selected id like the noble barding!)

[Ryuko]

Morale is tricky, I mused, putting pen to paper. When leading others into battle, you need to find a balance between unwavering support and a relentless push to be better, to do better, in the heat of battle.

I paused, glancing at the quiet waters beyond the Lavender Beds. I could never take our home for granted, something we worked so hard to rebuild. Yet here I sat, on the bench where I was privileged to reflect on some of our greatest and most unbelievable adventures.

There are countless examples I could share, but one in particular comes to mind. Deep beneath Eorzean soil, some time after Bahamut ravaged the land, my friends and I were tasked with confronting the beast — which, thanks to the remnants of Allagan technology, was swiftly being reconstructed.

I knew this story was something I had been asked not to share, but with everything that has happened… I did not want our tale lost to the ages.

After defeating his gatekeepers, we finally found the Dreadwyrm's burning heart. Here, time seemed to stand still, while the power of the Echo allowed us to keep returning to the moment before engagement. Her blessing enabled us to retain all we had learned in our previous encounters, which proved to be an invaluable boon.

But… after several weeks of trial and error, we were all exhausted. And that’s when the regression set in.

"No; don’t do that," I shouted to the white mage in the back lines. Sure enough, he ran into one of Bahamut’s conjured aetherial energy orbs and immediately lost consciousness, leading to our inevitable fall. This was my breaking point.

"Don't be a hero," I growled through gritted teeth. "We need to share the responsibility; you are of no use to us dead!"

He looked down as he formulated his response. "I'm sorry, I—"

"No! No more apologies. No more excuses." I took a deep breath and sighed, looking over the rest of our team as we prepared for our next encounter. We were all frustrated — at ourselves, and at each other. I knew my next words would be important.

"We've been here for months. We’ve seen everything he has to offer. We all know what to do. All it takes is one perfect attempt. One perfect run of it. And we save Eorzea." Tired eyes met mine with hesitant determination. “Now let’s go.”

With that, the paladin rushed forward, and our trial began anew. What followed left me in awe. Even before I could announce what was coming next, our team sprung to action with exacting precision. When Bahamut finally fell, there was a moment of stunned silence, followed by cheers and relief.

The moral of this story, and any heroic tale, is that nothing of worth is ever accomplished alone. Beyond skill, strength and experience is an even more important trait: a belief in yourself, and a belief in your teammates. If you can inspire this, you can save the world.

I tossed my message-in-a-bottle to the water, hoping it would reach willing eyes.

(Prize choice: scarf.)

[RaikaShiraishi]

To many adventurers, a single moment may stand above the rest. Be it the shattering click that broke through our frozen movements as the Lady of Ice unleashed her anger upon us, or the twisted grandeur that we bore witness to traversing the treachery of an ever-dying city, there is always one moment captures our being. A shard of time that we keep within ourselves, evermore.

Sometimes it can be as a moment in passing - a few words from a guiding merchant, or the comforting tomfoolery between comrades. It can be the feeling of chasing a golden sunset, cresting over into new lands unbeknownst to ourselves.

It may be happy - a moment of laughter, of joy. It may be sad - the melancholy of a comrade long lost, or the burning pain of a friend felled too soon. Perhaps, for some, it is a moment of satisfaction - the feeling of victory, the closing chapter of another tale.

For me, it is a moment where I lifted myself off of the ground and stood and felt gratitude, for it was a time where I feared would not have been able to stand again. The adventure that was given to me, all of the moments that I saw with my eyes and felt in my heart - it lifted me onto my feet one more time.

So I thank you for the moments - the moments that have truly defined our journeys as an adventure. Moments that we have all been proud to be a part of.

Ever searching,

A grateful Adventurer

(blue bird earrings)