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aquaveiled) wrote2021-05-21 11:01 am
aquaveiled) wrote2021-05-21 11:01 am
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abraxasooc
OOC INFORMATION
Player Name: Freya
Are you over 18?: Yes
Contact:![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
doggystyle or PM
Other Characters in Game: N/A
IC INFORMATION
Character Name: Himeka Sui
Canon: Final Fantasy XIV
Canon Point: Patch 5.5
Background: Warrior of Light @ FFXIV Wiki.
However since the Warrior of Light (WoL for shorthand) is the player character and customizable to a degree, there are some specifics to Himeka given her backstory pre-game. She is an Au Ra, one of the Eorzean races that hails from the continent of Orthard and have reptilian features such as scales and tails. Himeka in particular hails from Sui-no-Sato, a village that lives in a literal bubble in the Ruby Sea. This village was established to avoid war and be cut off from the rest of the world so she goes into the events of FFXIV a little more naïve than she might have been otherwise.
What leads the WoL to adventuring is never stated, only that they are encouraged (and do) join the Adventurer's Guild in their given starting city. Her motivation for leaving her secluded home was, after hearing bits and pieces about the outside world, a growing curiosity to see it, as well as a fear of being stuck in one place for the rest of her life without experiencing anything else. But rather than voicing her beliefs, she leaves without a word and essentially abandons her family and town, as it was generally accepted that once you left you did not come back. She chose not to come back, but never did say goodbye to her parents or her brothers.
Himeka begins in Limsa Lominsa, a costal city on an island effectively inhabited and ran by pirates. And her eventual decision to travel to Limsa Lominsa was hearing about the famous Bismarck restaurant and to try their self-named sandwich. She definitely bites off more than she can chew (har har).
Her story then follows the events of A Realm Reborn. She begins in the Arcanist Guild and is scouted by Y'shtola to join the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, mostly due to her having the Echo (explained in powers). However, after travelling to Gridania she finds her calling at the Conjurer's Guild and becomes an adept White Mage by the end of the expansion. Overall she is enjoying being able to travel around and see the realm and generally having a good time. The attempted coup in Ul'dah, assassination of the Sultana, and near extermination of the Scions unsettles her and totally tears that comfort down.
Heavensward is really the big wake-up call where Himeka takes her position as a Scion and a supposed Warrior of Light more seriously. Being an Au Ra and looking decidedly draconic makes being in a city that is embroiled in a millennia-long war with dragons can make things awkward, but she finds a second home in Ishgard in the end. After the presumed loses of the Scions outside of Alphinaud and Tataru, losses of new friends and found family hit hard and drive home the costs of war that she had been largely ignoring. It is a difficult time, but extremely important for her growth and a balm to some of her naivety. Himeka studies Astrology--not just card reading, but another healing class during her time in Ishgard. However committed to her studies she is at the time (in no small part due the colorful Astrologians she meets along the way), she eventually sets it aside as she does not particularly like the idea of fate and predestination.
Stormblood is particularly difficult for her, but in a good way. Having a better sense of purpose after her stay in Ishgard, she is keen to liberate Ala Mhigo given that she has friends who are from there and has seen the refugees over the past few years. However, it also means liberating Doma...which takes them to the Far East and consequently to her hometown under the waves. Though she doesn't regret leaving, she does regret how it went down and is forced to face that rather than avoiding the conflict (as is her wont with personal issues). It is largely a positive experience and she leaves the Ruby Sea better off and also closer to her friends.
This is also where the direct conflict and growing conflict with Zenos yae Galvus of the Garlean Empire begins, which Himeka has guarded feelings about. She is someone who will generally give anyone the benefit of the doubt, but is shown again and again someone who maybe does not have a sense of empathy for other people. Yet she is confused by the fact that despite how badly he wants to kill her and others, he calls her his "friend". During this time Himeka picks up her first true secondary class of Red Mage, a discipline that originated in Gyr Abania, where Ala Mhigo is located.
In Shadowbringers Himeka's world is shaken up once again as she and her colleagues leave (the latter unwittingly) to another world entirely at the beckoning of a mysterious figure in order to prevent the 8th Umbral Calmamity. She and the Scions have to fight back against the elementsl of light in order to save the First and the Source.
Himeka begins hopeful after the liberation of both Doma and Ala Mhigo, but in an attempt to counterbalance the light aether she absorbs from defeating enemies they face, it is during this time that she (thematically) begins to study as a Black Mage. The Scions also team up (begrudgingly on most of their parts) with an Ascian--the main antagonists of the series--whom Himeka does not trust at first despite her inclinations to give anyone the benefit of the doubt. However, once he brings Y'shtola back from the dead she takes everything he says at face value despite the continuing distrust from her colleagues.
It is through this time and following the defeat of Emet-Selch, Himeka rejoining with a shard of her own soul in the former Warrior of Light of the First--Ardbert--and further confrontations with Elidibus, another Ascian, and learning that in her past life she was basically colleagues with these Ascians that she has sworn to fight against that Himeka is questioning her sense of self, righteousness, and true purpose. She still struggles with the concepts of what makes someone a good person--intentions or actions, on how much she dislikes fate but sees the echoes of such things in the events that unfolded, whether the ends justify the means, and whether she is capable of making the right decisions on her own. The expansion ends on a somber but hopeful note and after averting the 8th Umbral Calamity (at least for a time), they return to the Source only to find that Zenos and the Garlean empire have gone topsy turvy. As the Warrior of Light she marches forward without paying much heed to her own inner turmoil. She has a job to do, after all.
Suitability: Being the Warrior of Light means you're a force to be reckoned with--not necessarily that you are the guiding hand. Given her role in her own world and her inclination to being a more passive member of the teams she is part of, Himeka is someone that could be easily guided by other played characters or NPCs alike towards a cause. Though she is more cognizant these days of what she may or may not be fighting for, she is easy to make requests of. It is something of an ongoing joke in canon that the WoL tends to pick up quests and do odd jobs for just about everyone even in between the greater plot-based campaigns, and Abraxas would be no different. The nature and severity of the requests would potentially weigh in on how easily she would accept, but at the end of the day she likes to stay busy and has few compunctions about who she runs errands for. (Not none, but few.)
Her desire for new experiences and to learn with the world around her also makes her more eager to take up opportunities that would lead her far and wide. She is not a scholar by nature, but she does have a "trial and error" approach to situations and prefers to learn by her own hand than by book. Exploring unknown territories would be something she would volunteer herself for in a heartbeat. The WoL also has an uncanny ability to make friends and allies wherever they travel through their home realm, and though such a thing could not be guaranteed in game, it does make Himeka someone who is willing to engage with just about anyone, learn of and from them no matter their walk of life.
Being from a world imbued with magic and practicing three different mage-disciplines, Himeka would find the fantasy setting very familiar. With returning abilities or the opportunity to study new magical feats, she would be particularly adept. She was generally attuned to the aether and elements of her world which may or may not depending on how such magics work in Abraxas make her helpful or valuable in researching such things here as well.
It should also be noted though the WoL is the "hero" of the story, they have an exceedingly large bodycount. They have to be willing to fight and potentially kill any perceived enemies they come up against and given that their role in the Scions and outside has been one of hired help, they are (if unintentionally) something of a mercenary. Himeka would be hard-pressed to take on something labeled as an "assassination attempt", but she does not lose much sleep over the fact that she has to cut lives short in order to accomplish the goals set before her. She just hopes those are pointing her in the right direction.
Lastly, though her passivity may lead her to an initially neutral position between factions, once you have earned her trust and loyalty (the former not too difficult), she is willing to throw down at a moment's notice for any who ask it of her. Pragmatism and magnetism in others would draw her to their side (see admire traits section). That being said, she is increasingly more cognizant and critical of her more passive role and consequently is trying to look for opportunities to assert herself and define more of her own decisions and values, whatever those may be. Should she find that opportunity in Abraxas, it would be a great character development, for good or for ill.
Powers: The primary reason the Warrior of Light engages on their journey is due to the Echo, or their Blessing of Light. Himeka also has a few other unique abilities from other adventurers.
The Warrior of Light can really have a proficiency in way too many different battling classes with a access to a lot of abilities. Himeka's focus remains in magical casting and has one main battle class as two secondary battle classes. These classes, in general, revolve around the manipulation of aether either from the environment or from within, something that Himeka is very adept at, while not proficient in melee or physical battle classes In the FFXIV universe, one can expedite learning and master a class by use of that class' Soul Stone--crystalized aether imbued with the memories of past practitioners of that class and, subsequently, a way to unlock those abilities.
Though limited from a player perspective in using only one class at a time, NPCs who have studied multiple disciplines are shown to mixing abilities from these different classes. (I.E. Thancred using his Rogue stealth abilities while tanking as a Gunbreaker.) With this in mind, Himeka is overall proficient in her main class with or without the use of a Soul Stone, but does better with her secondary classes with. She would also have an easier time accessing White Mage abilities in any class than accessing Red or Black Mage abilities from another class.
In a setting without Soul Stones, she would act primarily as a White Mage but be able to draw upon pieces of abilities from her other two classes. I.E. potentially the use of the aetherial blades of a Red Mage or a few offensive spells of a Black Mage, albeit less powerful than she could if she were equipped with a Soul Crystal of either.
White Mage (Main): A healing class that uses arcane magics to tend to wounds, dispel adverse effects, and restore allies. A majority of their abilities are either outright healing--restoring health--or supplemental to extend or strengthen the effects of their spells. Of all the healing classes available, they have the highest raw healing prowess. Their spells are meant to continue to supplement and reinvigorate their party's health, though they have one spell that acts as a temporary shield.
It should be noted that conjure and healing magics are used on and off of the battlefield, there is still a necessity for non-magical healers and chirurgeons. They can treat wounds but cannot reattach limbs. Though they have the ability to "raise" an ally from being knocked out or incapacitated, these are limited and there are several instances where healing magics are applied and a character may remain unconscious for some time. There are no abilities to raise anyone from the actual dead.
White Mages have a couple offensive spells, but they are not nearly as powerful as other classes. Their greatest offensive asset is the Blood Lily--they accumulate "lilies" the more time they spend in combat, use those lilies to heal themselves or their allies, and ones three have been spent, they can activate their Blood Lily and send their most powerful attack to all nearby enemies.
A full list of White Mage Abilities
Red Mage (Secondary): Red Mages are a DPS (damage per second) class that use a combination of ranged magic casting and close melee combat. They utilize both white (wind, earth) and black (fire, lightning) aspected magics, with a focus on keeping the two in balance. One of their biggest assets is their ability to "Dualcast" which is firing two spells in rapid succession. Though they have limited access to healing abilities, they have the ability to do a basic heal and (more importantly) raise allies from being knocked out.
In casting magics they prepare their melee attacks with a rapier (weapon of choice), in which they rush enemies for a few slashing attacks, then immediately jump back out of range. They are also able to conjure unaspected aetherial blades to fire at enemies. Being primarily an offensive casting class, they have limited defensive capabilities and most of their non-offensive magic spells are geared around boosting cast-times and critical damage output. On the plus side, their use of dual and swift casting allows them to be more mobile than other casting classes.
For Himeka, this was the bridge out of be an all-time healer role in battle.
A full list of Red Mage Abilities
Black Mage (Secondary): Black Mages are arguably the most powerful offensive spell-casting class available in Final Fantasy XIV, known for long cast times but big booms. They deal primarily in fire, ice, and lightning-aspected magics with a few unaspected offensive spells. Like Red Mage there is a balance between different magic types, but in the case of Black Mage it is Astral (Fire) and Umbral (Ice) to balance one's mana pool (available aether to cast spells). Black Mages rotate between a heavy-mana cost and high damage Astral phase and a shorter lower-damage cooldown Umbral phase.
While being a strong casting class, it is balanced out by having weak defensive statistics and is set so that the caster is meant to stay in one place. By using Ley Lines to enhance spell damage and lower cast times, the Mage does everything they can to stay in that spot (sometimes to a comical degree). They do have one ability to rush to a party member's side and one to rush back to ley lines, but otherwise their movement is entirely on foot. Manaward allows them a magical barrier to mitigate damage in times of need, but it has limited usage.
Along with other casting classes, Black Mages can swift cast a spell by negating cast time (for one spell), but stepping one up from Red Mage, they can Triple Cast three powerful spells in succession (and then a cooldown period).
A full list of Black Mage Abilities
PERSONALITY QUESTIONS
Describe an important event in your character's life and how it impacted them. Given how intense the story throughout XIV is for the WoL, there are a number of events which have impacted their journey and character, it is difficult to pin down one. But for Himeka one of the real turning points was at the end of A Realm Reborn during the assassination attempt of the Sultana in Ul'dah. Up until that point, things had been going relatively well for her and the Scions--she has defeated several Primals as well as three very important figures in the Garlean front, made allies of the heads of state of the three major city-states in Eorzea, they were making some headway with the closed-off city-state of Ishgard, established their own peace-keeping force in the Crystal Braves, and Himeka was well on her way to being the first outsider in an age to define herself as a White Mage. All in all even with the losses along the way, they were on the up.
With the attempt on the Sultana's life during what was meant to be a celebratory feast for the Eorzean Alliance, however, the dominos fell rapidly into chaos. Himeka herself and by proxy the Scions were blamed for the Sultana's death, conspiracy, among other things, effectively severing the ties they gained and shifting the balance of power in Ul'dah from the Sultanate to the wealthy commercialistic elite, the Monetarists. The Crystal Braves, or at least a portion of them, are proven to be traitors in allegiance with the Monetarists and the Scions are forced to flee Ul'dah entirely. Along the way nearly every member stands to sacrifice themselves so the others escape, leaving Himeka, Alphinaud, and Tataru desperately alone.
Even with the mishaps they had had until this point, this was the first time shit really hit the fan and, for once, Himeka could not just turn to the leaders in her group for insight. Enemies were not just Primals and Garleans--they were people she had once placed blind trust in. She realized all they accomplished could be completely undermined in a moment, that the connections she had made and friendships she had cultivated may all be for naught.
As the Warrior of Light, though newest member of the Scions, she looks at Alphinaud--a teenager--and Tataru--the receptionist, while competent, not a warrior--and feels totally unprepared to be responsible for their future. She starts to realize how she may normally turn to Minfilia, the leader of the Scions, or Y'shtola, a the forthright and decisive woman who first recruited her in the first place, for guidance, yet both at this juncture are potentially dead. It was their first big defeat and the first time the gravity of their work, of the friends and enemies they made, hit home and begins Himeka's journey to better understand her role and purpose in the events that follow, of which she is still seeking answers to.
It initially shook her default belief that you can take everyone at face value and trust implicitly, yet her good faith in people was restored mostly shortly thereafter due to the warm welcome they received from their new ally Haurchefant of Ishgard, and the events that follow. She does learn some new skepticism from this, however, and does not put full trust into everyone, but her good graces and loyalty are still rather easy to gain.
Does your character have a moral code, or other set of standards they try to live by? The WOL is considered the good protagonist of FFXIV and I align Himeka more with Chaotic Good. She makes some weird or nonsensical decisions sometimes, but the end purpose is to be helpful, do good for the world, or fit into the idea of "I am a person who does x good things". The Scions she works with in general go with the saying "for those we lost, and those we can yet save", and it is something she holds close.
Just...sometimes it goes a little extra. The WOL is someone in canon who is always willing to help people out, even on the smallest of requests. Consequently Himeka rarely ever says "no" and will generally pick the path she sees as the most helpful to whoever she is interacting with at the time.
"I do believe you've gone above and beyond and somewhere quite far to the left to the call of duty!"
Working ever for the "greater good" does not mean all actions are inherently good, however, and the WOL has an extremely high body count. So if she sees a situation overall as the right or moral one, she does not necessarily question the specific actions taken to get there. At least not until more recently. Throughout the last three expansions, but primarily Shadowbringers the WoL has to wrestle with if the ends really justify the means, as well as facing many shadows of their friends in battle. In the end, they and the Scions deign that it does not. The means are just as, if not more important.
What quality or qualities do they admire most? By in large, Himeka admires people with ideas and motivation. She enjoys being around people and listening to their thoughts and stories, but the people who really catch her attention are those that dream big and have a direction in life they are pointed and want to explore. Idealists and visionaries like Alphinaud and those who refuse to back down like Alisaie are some of her favorite people. Watching these characteristics mature through the expansions in the twins has been one of her favorite things.
Though Himeka can come up with creative and odd ideas or situations on her own, they are more whimsical and passing fancies of the moment than anything practical or achievable. Working with the Scions and meeting leaders of Eorzea and beyond has given her a veritable buffet of strong-willed and idealistic people, all of whom she enjoys the company of. A part of her hopes that some of this may rub off on her as well, but she is (mostly) content to get to help implement these ideas even if she is not someone who comes up with them on her own.
Do they have a part of themselves they dislike? For Himeka, her passivity is something she is aware of but does not really know how to correct. The WoL does suffer from this by nature of being the protagonist of an MMORPG where events and circumstance has to force the player through the storyline, but from a character perspective it does make the WoL largely at the whims of the world and others. For her part, Himeka really only became aware of this before she left Sui-no-Sato--her first real act of rebellion and choice being to leave--but then fell into old habits thereon after.
The dialogue choices she makes are usually the more humorous and "gung-ho" options, her easy-going "go with the flow" attitude can be seen as a positive in that she takes many things in stride. However, it has also lead her not to think too deeply on the consequences of her actions, at least at first. Joining up with the Scions allows her to see and experience new things which is generally her main goal, but she essentially goes places she's told to go. Rather than the instigator or catalyst for change, she enacts it at the behest of others. Himeka is not necessarily unhappy with it, but she becomes more and more aware of this as time goes on. (Though she did not pick up Dark Night as a job, through that questline one can see that the WoL may resent being used as a "tool" of sorts.)
Later in the expansions, she starts to question if she is really due the mantle of "hero" at all. Would she have attained all that she has if she had not been surrounded by the right people, all of whom have qualities she admires but does not seem to be able to emulate? Are her actions truly her own and do they make her a good person in the end?
What is their sign, and why? Himeka fits well with The Fool. She is, if anything, a free spirit who is always looking for new experiences--this is actually what led her to "adventuring" in the first place. Wanderlust and curiosity are some of her defining characteristics, somehow managing to frequent all the places of the world (and other worlds) that she has visited once and integrating herself with the locals. When her choices are not dictated by a mission or by her traveling companions, her movements are generally erratic and based on whims of the moment. She may spend weeks in one area and absorb as much as she can and then disappear again without notice to the next thing that has her interest. Her reactions to most questions of "does this work" or "is this a good idea" is "who knows, let's find out!"
"What could possibly go wrong? Just pull the lever and see what happens!"
Shadowbringers Spoilers: It is later revealed that the WoL is a reincarnation of the ancient Azem--known as the traveller and tasked with exploring the greater world and seeking novelty. They are noted to be similarly prone to wandering and acting in the moment at great risk to themselves and sometimes otherwise, preferring to act than wait for agreement.
SAMPLES & ARRIVAL
Samples:
TDM Top-Level
PSL thread w/ Estinien
Arrival Scenario: Imprisoned
Player Name: Freya
Are you over 18?: Yes
Contact:
Other Characters in Game: N/A
IC INFORMATION
Character Name: Himeka Sui
Canon: Final Fantasy XIV
Canon Point: Patch 5.5
Background: Warrior of Light @ FFXIV Wiki.
However since the Warrior of Light (WoL for shorthand) is the player character and customizable to a degree, there are some specifics to Himeka given her backstory pre-game. She is an Au Ra, one of the Eorzean races that hails from the continent of Orthard and have reptilian features such as scales and tails. Himeka in particular hails from Sui-no-Sato, a village that lives in a literal bubble in the Ruby Sea. This village was established to avoid war and be cut off from the rest of the world so she goes into the events of FFXIV a little more naïve than she might have been otherwise.
What leads the WoL to adventuring is never stated, only that they are encouraged (and do) join the Adventurer's Guild in their given starting city. Her motivation for leaving her secluded home was, after hearing bits and pieces about the outside world, a growing curiosity to see it, as well as a fear of being stuck in one place for the rest of her life without experiencing anything else. But rather than voicing her beliefs, she leaves without a word and essentially abandons her family and town, as it was generally accepted that once you left you did not come back. She chose not to come back, but never did say goodbye to her parents or her brothers.
Himeka begins in Limsa Lominsa, a costal city on an island effectively inhabited and ran by pirates. And her eventual decision to travel to Limsa Lominsa was hearing about the famous Bismarck restaurant and to try their self-named sandwich. She definitely bites off more than she can chew (har har).
Her story then follows the events of A Realm Reborn. She begins in the Arcanist Guild and is scouted by Y'shtola to join the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, mostly due to her having the Echo (explained in powers). However, after travelling to Gridania she finds her calling at the Conjurer's Guild and becomes an adept White Mage by the end of the expansion. Overall she is enjoying being able to travel around and see the realm and generally having a good time. The attempted coup in Ul'dah, assassination of the Sultana, and near extermination of the Scions unsettles her and totally tears that comfort down.
Heavensward is really the big wake-up call where Himeka takes her position as a Scion and a supposed Warrior of Light more seriously. Being an Au Ra and looking decidedly draconic makes being in a city that is embroiled in a millennia-long war with dragons can make things awkward, but she finds a second home in Ishgard in the end. After the presumed loses of the Scions outside of Alphinaud and Tataru, losses of new friends and found family hit hard and drive home the costs of war that she had been largely ignoring. It is a difficult time, but extremely important for her growth and a balm to some of her naivety. Himeka studies Astrology--not just card reading, but another healing class during her time in Ishgard. However committed to her studies she is at the time (in no small part due the colorful Astrologians she meets along the way), she eventually sets it aside as she does not particularly like the idea of fate and predestination.
Stormblood is particularly difficult for her, but in a good way. Having a better sense of purpose after her stay in Ishgard, she is keen to liberate Ala Mhigo given that she has friends who are from there and has seen the refugees over the past few years. However, it also means liberating Doma...which takes them to the Far East and consequently to her hometown under the waves. Though she doesn't regret leaving, she does regret how it went down and is forced to face that rather than avoiding the conflict (as is her wont with personal issues). It is largely a positive experience and she leaves the Ruby Sea better off and also closer to her friends.
This is also where the direct conflict and growing conflict with Zenos yae Galvus of the Garlean Empire begins, which Himeka has guarded feelings about. She is someone who will generally give anyone the benefit of the doubt, but is shown again and again someone who maybe does not have a sense of empathy for other people. Yet she is confused by the fact that despite how badly he wants to kill her and others, he calls her his "friend". During this time Himeka picks up her first true secondary class of Red Mage, a discipline that originated in Gyr Abania, where Ala Mhigo is located.
In Shadowbringers Himeka's world is shaken up once again as she and her colleagues leave (the latter unwittingly) to another world entirely at the beckoning of a mysterious figure in order to prevent the 8th Umbral Calmamity. She and the Scions have to fight back against the elementsl of light in order to save the First and the Source.
Himeka begins hopeful after the liberation of both Doma and Ala Mhigo, but in an attempt to counterbalance the light aether she absorbs from defeating enemies they face, it is during this time that she (thematically) begins to study as a Black Mage. The Scions also team up (begrudgingly on most of their parts) with an Ascian--the main antagonists of the series--whom Himeka does not trust at first despite her inclinations to give anyone the benefit of the doubt. However, once he brings Y'shtola back from the dead she takes everything he says at face value despite the continuing distrust from her colleagues.
It is through this time and following the defeat of Emet-Selch, Himeka rejoining with a shard of her own soul in the former Warrior of Light of the First--Ardbert--and further confrontations with Elidibus, another Ascian, and learning that in her past life she was basically colleagues with these Ascians that she has sworn to fight against that Himeka is questioning her sense of self, righteousness, and true purpose. She still struggles with the concepts of what makes someone a good person--intentions or actions, on how much she dislikes fate but sees the echoes of such things in the events that unfolded, whether the ends justify the means, and whether she is capable of making the right decisions on her own. The expansion ends on a somber but hopeful note and after averting the 8th Umbral Calamity (at least for a time), they return to the Source only to find that Zenos and the Garlean empire have gone topsy turvy. As the Warrior of Light she marches forward without paying much heed to her own inner turmoil. She has a job to do, after all.
Suitability: Being the Warrior of Light means you're a force to be reckoned with--not necessarily that you are the guiding hand. Given her role in her own world and her inclination to being a more passive member of the teams she is part of, Himeka is someone that could be easily guided by other played characters or NPCs alike towards a cause. Though she is more cognizant these days of what she may or may not be fighting for, she is easy to make requests of. It is something of an ongoing joke in canon that the WoL tends to pick up quests and do odd jobs for just about everyone even in between the greater plot-based campaigns, and Abraxas would be no different. The nature and severity of the requests would potentially weigh in on how easily she would accept, but at the end of the day she likes to stay busy and has few compunctions about who she runs errands for. (Not none, but few.)
Her desire for new experiences and to learn with the world around her also makes her more eager to take up opportunities that would lead her far and wide. She is not a scholar by nature, but she does have a "trial and error" approach to situations and prefers to learn by her own hand than by book. Exploring unknown territories would be something she would volunteer herself for in a heartbeat. The WoL also has an uncanny ability to make friends and allies wherever they travel through their home realm, and though such a thing could not be guaranteed in game, it does make Himeka someone who is willing to engage with just about anyone, learn of and from them no matter their walk of life.
Being from a world imbued with magic and practicing three different mage-disciplines, Himeka would find the fantasy setting very familiar. With returning abilities or the opportunity to study new magical feats, she would be particularly adept. She was generally attuned to the aether and elements of her world which may or may not depending on how such magics work in Abraxas make her helpful or valuable in researching such things here as well.
It should also be noted though the WoL is the "hero" of the story, they have an exceedingly large bodycount. They have to be willing to fight and potentially kill any perceived enemies they come up against and given that their role in the Scions and outside has been one of hired help, they are (if unintentionally) something of a mercenary. Himeka would be hard-pressed to take on something labeled as an "assassination attempt", but she does not lose much sleep over the fact that she has to cut lives short in order to accomplish the goals set before her. She just hopes those are pointing her in the right direction.
Lastly, though her passivity may lead her to an initially neutral position between factions, once you have earned her trust and loyalty (the former not too difficult), she is willing to throw down at a moment's notice for any who ask it of her. Pragmatism and magnetism in others would draw her to their side (see admire traits section). That being said, she is increasingly more cognizant and critical of her more passive role and consequently is trying to look for opportunities to assert herself and define more of her own decisions and values, whatever those may be. Should she find that opportunity in Abraxas, it would be a great character development, for good or for ill.
Powers: The primary reason the Warrior of Light engages on their journey is due to the Echo, or their Blessing of Light. Himeka also has a few other unique abilities from other adventurers.
The Echo: Considered a "gift" from the Mother Crystal Hydaelyn, also known as the "Blessing of Light". It comes in various forms, but the Warrior of Light is able to view, hear, and essentially relive memories of others. This does not happen by choice and the WoL looks as if they are experiencing a headache when the visions hit. There does not seem to be a time limit onto when these memories have occurred, but it offers insight to their friends, allies, and enemies.
Secondary abilities that come with the Echo are the ability to understand foreign languages as well as being immune to the tempering of Primals--essentially becoming enthralled by the summoned god and attuned to its will. This is the main focus of the Scions' early efforts, making the WoL a valuable asset in their defeat.
Shadowbringers Spoilers: In reality this is a reawakening of the remnants of ancient, watered down abilities similar to what the Ascians have. The visions of a star shower seen before it's awakening are similarly memories of the destruction of a world in their past life.
Hearer: Himeka is able to hear the voices and will of elementals. This is a term that she learns from the Conjurers Guild in Gridania and while uncommon, is known to particular types of Conjurers and helped accelerate her training as a White Mage. Because she grew up in the sea, she has the highest affinity/ability to speak with water sprites and water elementals, followed by ice.
Kojin Blessing: Though the WoL and two other Scions gain this ability in the events of Stormblood, Himeka has this earlier on due to her growing up in Sui-no-Sato. The Kojin Blessing allows someone to be able to breathe underwater.
Secondary abilities that come with the Echo are the ability to understand foreign languages as well as being immune to the tempering of Primals--essentially becoming enthralled by the summoned god and attuned to its will. This is the main focus of the Scions' early efforts, making the WoL a valuable asset in their defeat.
Shadowbringers Spoilers: In reality this is a reawakening of the remnants of ancient, watered down abilities similar to what the Ascians have. The visions of a star shower seen before it's awakening are similarly memories of the destruction of a world in their past life.
Hearer: Himeka is able to hear the voices and will of elementals. This is a term that she learns from the Conjurers Guild in Gridania and while uncommon, is known to particular types of Conjurers and helped accelerate her training as a White Mage. Because she grew up in the sea, she has the highest affinity/ability to speak with water sprites and water elementals, followed by ice.
Kojin Blessing: Though the WoL and two other Scions gain this ability in the events of Stormblood, Himeka has this earlier on due to her growing up in Sui-no-Sato. The Kojin Blessing allows someone to be able to breathe underwater.
The Warrior of Light can really have a proficiency in way too many different battling classes with a access to a lot of abilities. Himeka's focus remains in magical casting and has one main battle class as two secondary battle classes. These classes, in general, revolve around the manipulation of aether either from the environment or from within, something that Himeka is very adept at, while not proficient in melee or physical battle classes In the FFXIV universe, one can expedite learning and master a class by use of that class' Soul Stone--crystalized aether imbued with the memories of past practitioners of that class and, subsequently, a way to unlock those abilities.
Though limited from a player perspective in using only one class at a time, NPCs who have studied multiple disciplines are shown to mixing abilities from these different classes. (I.E. Thancred using his Rogue stealth abilities while tanking as a Gunbreaker.) With this in mind, Himeka is overall proficient in her main class with or without the use of a Soul Stone, but does better with her secondary classes with. She would also have an easier time accessing White Mage abilities in any class than accessing Red or Black Mage abilities from another class.
In a setting without Soul Stones, she would act primarily as a White Mage but be able to draw upon pieces of abilities from her other two classes. I.E. potentially the use of the aetherial blades of a Red Mage or a few offensive spells of a Black Mage, albeit less powerful than she could if she were equipped with a Soul Crystal of either.
White Mage (Main): A healing class that uses arcane magics to tend to wounds, dispel adverse effects, and restore allies. A majority of their abilities are either outright healing--restoring health--or supplemental to extend or strengthen the effects of their spells. Of all the healing classes available, they have the highest raw healing prowess. Their spells are meant to continue to supplement and reinvigorate their party's health, though they have one spell that acts as a temporary shield. It should be noted that conjure and healing magics are used on and off of the battlefield, there is still a necessity for non-magical healers and chirurgeons. They can treat wounds but cannot reattach limbs. Though they have the ability to "raise" an ally from being knocked out or incapacitated, these are limited and there are several instances where healing magics are applied and a character may remain unconscious for some time. There are no abilities to raise anyone from the actual dead.
White Mages have a couple offensive spells, but they are not nearly as powerful as other classes. Their greatest offensive asset is the Blood Lily--they accumulate "lilies" the more time they spend in combat, use those lilies to heal themselves or their allies, and ones three have been spent, they can activate their Blood Lily and send their most powerful attack to all nearby enemies.
A full list of White Mage Abilities
Red Mage (Secondary): Red Mages are a DPS (damage per second) class that use a combination of ranged magic casting and close melee combat. They utilize both white (wind, earth) and black (fire, lightning) aspected magics, with a focus on keeping the two in balance. One of their biggest assets is their ability to "Dualcast" which is firing two spells in rapid succession. Though they have limited access to healing abilities, they have the ability to do a basic heal and (more importantly) raise allies from being knocked out.In casting magics they prepare their melee attacks with a rapier (weapon of choice), in which they rush enemies for a few slashing attacks, then immediately jump back out of range. They are also able to conjure unaspected aetherial blades to fire at enemies. Being primarily an offensive casting class, they have limited defensive capabilities and most of their non-offensive magic spells are geared around boosting cast-times and critical damage output. On the plus side, their use of dual and swift casting allows them to be more mobile than other casting classes.
For Himeka, this was the bridge out of be an all-time healer role in battle.
A full list of Red Mage Abilities
Black Mage (Secondary): Black Mages are arguably the most powerful offensive spell-casting class available in Final Fantasy XIV, known for long cast times but big booms. They deal primarily in fire, ice, and lightning-aspected magics with a few unaspected offensive spells. Like Red Mage there is a balance between different magic types, but in the case of Black Mage it is Astral (Fire) and Umbral (Ice) to balance one's mana pool (available aether to cast spells). Black Mages rotate between a heavy-mana cost and high damage Astral phase and a shorter lower-damage cooldown Umbral phase.While being a strong casting class, it is balanced out by having weak defensive statistics and is set so that the caster is meant to stay in one place. By using Ley Lines to enhance spell damage and lower cast times, the Mage does everything they can to stay in that spot (sometimes to a comical degree). They do have one ability to rush to a party member's side and one to rush back to ley lines, but otherwise their movement is entirely on foot. Manaward allows them a magical barrier to mitigate damage in times of need, but it has limited usage.
Along with other casting classes, Black Mages can swift cast a spell by negating cast time (for one spell), but stepping one up from Red Mage, they can Triple Cast three powerful spells in succession (and then a cooldown period).
A full list of Black Mage Abilities
PERSONALITY QUESTIONS
Describe an important event in your character's life and how it impacted them. Given how intense the story throughout XIV is for the WoL, there are a number of events which have impacted their journey and character, it is difficult to pin down one. But for Himeka one of the real turning points was at the end of A Realm Reborn during the assassination attempt of the Sultana in Ul'dah. Up until that point, things had been going relatively well for her and the Scions--she has defeated several Primals as well as three very important figures in the Garlean front, made allies of the heads of state of the three major city-states in Eorzea, they were making some headway with the closed-off city-state of Ishgard, established their own peace-keeping force in the Crystal Braves, and Himeka was well on her way to being the first outsider in an age to define herself as a White Mage. All in all even with the losses along the way, they were on the up.
With the attempt on the Sultana's life during what was meant to be a celebratory feast for the Eorzean Alliance, however, the dominos fell rapidly into chaos. Himeka herself and by proxy the Scions were blamed for the Sultana's death, conspiracy, among other things, effectively severing the ties they gained and shifting the balance of power in Ul'dah from the Sultanate to the wealthy commercialistic elite, the Monetarists. The Crystal Braves, or at least a portion of them, are proven to be traitors in allegiance with the Monetarists and the Scions are forced to flee Ul'dah entirely. Along the way nearly every member stands to sacrifice themselves so the others escape, leaving Himeka, Alphinaud, and Tataru desperately alone.
Even with the mishaps they had had until this point, this was the first time shit really hit the fan and, for once, Himeka could not just turn to the leaders in her group for insight. Enemies were not just Primals and Garleans--they were people she had once placed blind trust in. She realized all they accomplished could be completely undermined in a moment, that the connections she had made and friendships she had cultivated may all be for naught.
As the Warrior of Light, though newest member of the Scions, she looks at Alphinaud--a teenager--and Tataru--the receptionist, while competent, not a warrior--and feels totally unprepared to be responsible for their future. She starts to realize how she may normally turn to Minfilia, the leader of the Scions, or Y'shtola, a the forthright and decisive woman who first recruited her in the first place, for guidance, yet both at this juncture are potentially dead. It was their first big defeat and the first time the gravity of their work, of the friends and enemies they made, hit home and begins Himeka's journey to better understand her role and purpose in the events that follow, of which she is still seeking answers to.
It initially shook her default belief that you can take everyone at face value and trust implicitly, yet her good faith in people was restored mostly shortly thereafter due to the warm welcome they received from their new ally Haurchefant of Ishgard, and the events that follow. She does learn some new skepticism from this, however, and does not put full trust into everyone, but her good graces and loyalty are still rather easy to gain.
Does your character have a moral code, or other set of standards they try to live by? The WOL is considered the good protagonist of FFXIV and I align Himeka more with Chaotic Good. She makes some weird or nonsensical decisions sometimes, but the end purpose is to be helpful, do good for the world, or fit into the idea of "I am a person who does x good things". The Scions she works with in general go with the saying "for those we lost, and those we can yet save", and it is something she holds close.
Just...sometimes it goes a little extra. The WOL is someone in canon who is always willing to help people out, even on the smallest of requests. Consequently Himeka rarely ever says "no" and will generally pick the path she sees as the most helpful to whoever she is interacting with at the time.
"I do believe you've gone above and beyond and somewhere quite far to the left to the call of duty!"
Working ever for the "greater good" does not mean all actions are inherently good, however, and the WOL has an extremely high body count. So if she sees a situation overall as the right or moral one, she does not necessarily question the specific actions taken to get there. At least not until more recently. Throughout the last three expansions, but primarily Shadowbringers the WoL has to wrestle with if the ends really justify the means, as well as facing many shadows of their friends in battle. In the end, they and the Scions deign that it does not. The means are just as, if not more important.
What quality or qualities do they admire most? By in large, Himeka admires people with ideas and motivation. She enjoys being around people and listening to their thoughts and stories, but the people who really catch her attention are those that dream big and have a direction in life they are pointed and want to explore. Idealists and visionaries like Alphinaud and those who refuse to back down like Alisaie are some of her favorite people. Watching these characteristics mature through the expansions in the twins has been one of her favorite things.
Though Himeka can come up with creative and odd ideas or situations on her own, they are more whimsical and passing fancies of the moment than anything practical or achievable. Working with the Scions and meeting leaders of Eorzea and beyond has given her a veritable buffet of strong-willed and idealistic people, all of whom she enjoys the company of. A part of her hopes that some of this may rub off on her as well, but she is (mostly) content to get to help implement these ideas even if she is not someone who comes up with them on her own.
Do they have a part of themselves they dislike? For Himeka, her passivity is something she is aware of but does not really know how to correct. The WoL does suffer from this by nature of being the protagonist of an MMORPG where events and circumstance has to force the player through the storyline, but from a character perspective it does make the WoL largely at the whims of the world and others. For her part, Himeka really only became aware of this before she left Sui-no-Sato--her first real act of rebellion and choice being to leave--but then fell into old habits thereon after.
The dialogue choices she makes are usually the more humorous and "gung-ho" options, her easy-going "go with the flow" attitude can be seen as a positive in that she takes many things in stride. However, it has also lead her not to think too deeply on the consequences of her actions, at least at first. Joining up with the Scions allows her to see and experience new things which is generally her main goal, but she essentially goes places she's told to go. Rather than the instigator or catalyst for change, she enacts it at the behest of others. Himeka is not necessarily unhappy with it, but she becomes more and more aware of this as time goes on. (Though she did not pick up Dark Night as a job, through that questline one can see that the WoL may resent being used as a "tool" of sorts.)
Later in the expansions, she starts to question if she is really due the mantle of "hero" at all. Would she have attained all that she has if she had not been surrounded by the right people, all of whom have qualities she admires but does not seem to be able to emulate? Are her actions truly her own and do they make her a good person in the end?
What is their sign, and why? Himeka fits well with The Fool. She is, if anything, a free spirit who is always looking for new experiences--this is actually what led her to "adventuring" in the first place. Wanderlust and curiosity are some of her defining characteristics, somehow managing to frequent all the places of the world (and other worlds) that she has visited once and integrating herself with the locals. When her choices are not dictated by a mission or by her traveling companions, her movements are generally erratic and based on whims of the moment. She may spend weeks in one area and absorb as much as she can and then disappear again without notice to the next thing that has her interest. Her reactions to most questions of "does this work" or "is this a good idea" is "who knows, let's find out!"
"What could possibly go wrong? Just pull the lever and see what happens!"
Shadowbringers Spoilers: It is later revealed that the WoL is a reincarnation of the ancient Azem--known as the traveller and tasked with exploring the greater world and seeking novelty. They are noted to be similarly prone to wandering and acting in the moment at great risk to themselves and sometimes otherwise, preferring to act than wait for agreement.
SAMPLES & ARRIVAL
Samples:
TDM Top-Level
PSL thread w/ Estinien
Arrival Scenario: Imprisoned