Kaleidoscopic Voyager

Originally posted on July 2nd, 2017 Greetings! I'm Hatanu, an adventurer extremely new to Vana'diel! I started my journey a while ago in the Republic of Bastok and have worked up my way through its ranks by doing a few missions and bashing a few Quadav shells in North & South Gustaberg and within the Palborough Mines. Once I grew comfortable with my fresh-yet-barren-looking surroundings in Gustaberg, I journeyed alongside my Trust NPC companions: Valaineral, Adelheid, and Joachim to the Konschtat Highlands, then pushed onward into the Valkurm Dunes. While avoiding the roaming goblins, my party and I slayed countless Hill Lizards and Sand Bats. We trudged through the sand until we finally made it to Selbina, and rested there. Little did we know, that we'd come back here very soon on an assignment set by the bosses in Bastok. Once I felt confident enough in my strength, I ran onward to Jeuno. A massive city that I'd been told to aim towards in my training as a young adventurer thief. Thus, I turned back towards the windmills and green hills of the Konschtat Highlands, and journeyed northeast to the Pashhow Marshlands. I remained wary and vigilant in my avoidance of the roaming Malboros and Goodbues, for I knew they were too strong for me, and kept at it until I made it to the Rolanberry Fields. I knew I was close, yet I was horrified by the incredibly strong (well, incredibly strong in relation to me at the time) Quadav that guarded the roads. Many times I had to run off into the grass, and navigate the ruined stone fences as I approached the grand walls of Jeuno. It was finally when I arrived at the gates, that I took a large breath and sighed in relief. I finally had made it. But then upon entering I stood witness to a mysterious vision of a crystal floating in the air, and a young boy watching it while everyone around me stood frozen in time. I recall hearing an ethereal voice saying something, as if it were telling a story. It began its words with:

“It all began with a stone... ...or so the legend says...”

Meanwhile the boy turned to me and spoke. He told me to seek out three things; the Seedspall Lux, Seedspall Luna, and the Seedspall Astrum. Then once I had found those things, I am to bring it all to him at Qufim Island. Shortly after he finished speaking, he disappeared and all returned to as it was. As if it were all a dream. Weird visions aside, my arrival in Jeuno sent me on a goose chase for a Chocobo on the loose. After dealing with that conundrum, I treated an injured Chocobo because some irresponsible man wasn't capable of being a decent master and human being to this beautiful creature. My introduction to the grand duchy of Jeuno was very tempestuous, but very amusing; however, I turned back to Bastok. From there I set out to do my duty in the Federation of Windurst and the Kingdom of San d'Oria. Afterwards, I scaled a bit of Delkfutt's Tower in Qufim Island, and unintentionally found and defeated Poryphion, a massive Gigas whose defeat rewarded us with the Delkfutt Key (and boy did it come in handy later for a task set unto me to find/rescue an ambassador).

Thus that is my recollection of how I started my journey through Vana'diel. Yes, my humble beginnings in a massive over-pressurized nutshell. I most recently journeyed into Garlaige Citadel, situated amidst Sauromugue Champaign. Many Sauromugue Skinks were bothering my entire party as we seeked the entrance to our next training grounds. Once we finally found what we were seeking, we were met with a rather desolate scene.

The inside was in completely rough shape, and I ended falling down one of the holes in the floor. Below were monsters far beyond my league, so I attempted to run back to where I'd fallen from, only to be defeated by Citadel Bats.

After returning to the citadel, this time I did my best to avoid falling and went after Wingrats and Skeletons. At one point, I spotted a Siege Bat from across one of the holes in the floor, so I whipped my crossbow out and shot at it. I waited for it to go around and enter the room I was in, and it did. Except one minor thing I overlooked was that it brought friends... lots of friends. In little time I was swarmed and defeated by the Siege Bat and the many Wingrats that joined it. I returned a third time and this round I just cowered in the corner and lured lone skeletons and bats toward me and my companions until I'd gotten stronger. Then, I turned my gaze back to Jeuno, where I would serve the Bastok ambassador and the duchy's archduke, Kam'lanaut. I was to seize magicite from the beastmen, Vana'diel's common enemy from what I could tell (and from what I experienced with the Quadav at least) from three different bases of theirs. First, I had to meet with Aldo (Wait wait, that name rings a bell. Why am I thinking back to that weird vision with the boy?) at the Neptune's Spire Inn in Lower Jeuno. Little did I know, that the place was under the influence of a group known as the Tenshodo according to one of the temporary residents there, and Aldo was no where to be found. Thus my only lead is to gain membership into the Tenshodo, and what better way is there than to gain some notoriety... I mean, fame, of course. The good kind! But first, I decided that I ought to make a name for myself in Bastok, and thus I returned and have been doing favors for the residents of the Republic.

These range from advertising/recruiting individuals for an Aht Urhgan mercenary group to trying to find an old foreman and his dog (Plot twist/Spoiler: Apparently they're both dead and the dog went undead. I had to kill it to find this all out. Oh, the things I do). In the meantime, I managed to expand my little Moghouse, so now my Moogle and I have a second floor to feel comfy in (Boy, I really need some furniture ASAP.). Also did I mention that I'm also taking care of a baby Chocobo!?

I'm not sure I've covered all of the things that have happened over the course of my first few months in Vana'diel. It's been completely confusing and chaotic, but very entertaining I must say. Now that I've caught you up on my journey, perhaps my future tales will sound less like insane ramblings and more like those of a weary-but-calm adventurer sitting at a campfire. I hope to return to Vana'diel soon, and with me I hope to bring more tales of my encounters and misadventures!

Hello! In case you haven't noticed, this is a personal blog I'm running to keep track of my journey through Final Fantasy XI. As this was an extremely condensed rundown of what happened over my first two months, the next posts I make will be far more focused and less like a sugar-rush. I'll post whenever I can/feel like and I'm running all of this for fun and for record's sake. Anyway, to whomever is reading this, I hope you'll enjoy this. To those who happen to also be adventuring in Vana'diel right now, feel free to join/message me sometime! Until next time!