Listen well traveler,

I remember when that damned moon fell over the flats of Carteneau. The scent of blood and smoke lingers in my nostrils. The helpless shouts of the dying ring in my ears still. The sight of that dread wyrm, true fury made manifest, bursting free from it's millennia old prison... that sight will never be far from my eyes.

Surely, I thought, that was the end. All that we had fought for would come to naught. The friends around me, the soldiers who battled so fiercely to protect their homes, perhaps all of Eorzea would be reduced to smoldering cinders. But thanks to a valiant few... it was the beginning of some something beyond any of our hopes. Their sacrifices gave rise to realms of light, and darkness, and adventure beyond measure.

Ask anyone who calls themselves an adventurer and they will recount a certain moment in their life that they carry close to their heart. It's something to spur them on and give them hope when times are hard. Instead, I say that you savor every moment. From your mightiest victory to your most ignoble defeat, wear them like badges, and look forward to the next. We cannot be sure which will be our last.

So, if it just so happens that you find yourself hesitating over a thick ledger in a busy bar in Ul'dah, remember what I've said here. Life is short. Be brave, scrawl your name, and adventure forth for as long as there are adventures to be had. Coin, glory, power, or something altogether different, it doesn't matter the reason you go. Just go. Perhaps you will find something you did not know you were searching for.
With hope,
A Weary Warrior



[Thanks for reading.
Art: Mythpunk
Logo: Final Fantasy XIV, Square Enix
Prize Option: Scarf of Wondrous Wit]