A Keeper's Bond follows the miqo'te Y'sera Dei-fyth and her adventure across Eorzea. Our core themes will touch on some sensitive subjects such as violence, alcohol abuse, and death. Please consider joining us and helping steer her towards her ultimate destiny!
Glistening in the early morning light, a droplet of dew rolls down the track of a leaf. It pauses at each fork in its path, considering which route will lead to its ultimate destiny. While such a nebulous concept as fate will be lost upon this humble orb, its impact on the world around it will ripple across time and space.
The year is 1555 of the Sixth Astral Era. Three years have passed since the Garlean Empire subjugated the nation of Doma leaving the neighboring city states scrambling to strengthen their borders. Our tale begins far to the west of Doma in the verdant city state of Gridania. The city itself lives under the weighty branches of a vast forest called The Black Shroud. The Shroud is a perilous place, rife with tribal warfare, rampant poaching, and monsters powerful enough to crush the hardiest of travelers underfoot. Often out of sight however are the elementals who safeguard its natural splendor. It is by their great power that balance is maintained, and their whimsy that those within enjoy its grand bounty.
In the south-eastern corner of the Shroud where the thick trunks of conifers give way to open water and mangroves; a small tribe of miqo'te reside upon a wide hill of mossy stones. Their residence sits at the edge of the tree line overlooking much of the marsh which they call their territory. Many monsters roam the marsh but few dare come close to the trees lest they risk ambush by the hunters of the Dei-fyth.
A sharp snap is all the warning I get. I glance over my shoulder to peer into two glowing orbs of hunger and malice. They're so close! I can feel their owner's breath upon my neck as fangs the length of my fingers plunge into my collar and shoulder blade. The pain doesn't come as quickly as I expect, and when it finally does I can't move an onze in response…
Sitting up and rubbing my eyes I blink away the night's sleep. A rough shiver shakes me from my shoulders down to the tip of my tail. I glance over at the fire pit in the middle of our tipi and to my surprise, find it has smoldered down to embers. Seated beside the darkened pit is my mother: Matriarch Masha Dei-fyth. Her arms are hugging her knees and her face is tucked into the bundle of limbs. Our matriarch is the tallest, brawniest, and fastest of our women. She's built like a coeurl: Tight muscles, lean curves and a swift savagery that will stop any beast in their tracks!
The matriarch is the heart and pillar of our tribe. She is both guardian and teacher to us all, even the men! While they may be bigger and stronger; she is faster, cleverer, and wiser still. To see her now, so much smaller…
"Ma'am?" I rise to my feet and cross the room to sit beside her, "What's happened?" My voice is small; a whisper on the wind requiring one's full attention to observe accurately. I can't raise it to shout or yell which suits the matriarch just fine.
Globes of molten amber shift downwards to regard me. They're puffy and lined with thin rivers of red. Her lips, full and dark, quiver and then crease into a firm line, "Tyo'a has gone to join Masha'a at the Mother's side."
The words fall like stones from her mouth, hammering a fuzz into my head and an ache into my chest. My eyes water, my throat tightens, and my nose begins to leak. I start to scramble to my feet to flee from this dark news. Surely the dream I had hasn't concluded. If I can just wake up…
The Matriarch's arm catches me about the waist and pulls me back in. She holds me flush against her chest and squeezes me tight, "No." Her voice is low, her tone firm but gentle, "Now is not the time to break and retreat." I feel a faint tremor through her embrace. She has always chastised me for crying over things of little significance. I lift my chin to get a look up at her face and find it resembles my own.
This is significant.
I choke down a sob and turn in her arms to bury my face into her chest. I cry until my throat is hoarse and the tears stop falling. All the while the matriarch holds me tight and joins my sorrow in stoic silence.
"... I don't think he hurt much." The comment escapes my lips before any real thought could form.
"What," she asks in as much surprise as confusion.
"I saw it. In my dream. A beast with red eyes and long fangs."
Another silence stretches out between us, filling the tipi to bursting.
"Can you take me there?"
After cleaning me up, the matriarch helps me don my armor. It's a simple set of hides which cover my vitals and give me enough room to move around in. It's a bit big for me, but she tightens it up so it fits well. Her armor however is far heavier and more complicated. For the most part she doesn't need my help, but I return the favor regardless. By the time we're both dressed she pulls her ax from its rack and inspects the blade. I turn towards a smaller adjacent rack and reach for mine…
Welcome to the story of A Keeper's Bond - or Keeper Quest for short! I go by Major and it's my pleasure to join you all here on Sufficient Velocity. This will be my first quest, one that is prone to expand for several volumes in length. It is my goal to create a light novel series from the journeys we take together. I hope you all come to enjoy and look forward to each new update!
Mechanically we will be employing one of three offerings which will often include a write-in. A variety of decisions will be offered from minute to critical, and all of them will have an impact upon the overall narrative. Some will include elements drawn from Final Fantasy XIV; such as what classes, and jobs Y'sera trains in. These will be represented on her character sheet which will be kept up to date with our story.
To begin, our feline protagonist will need to select a weapon. On the rack before her she will find one of the following armaments. This will serve as an entry into the relevant class but is by no means something she will be stuck in.
These are the only three options which Y'sera may possibly have received rudimentary training in. While these classes are not a permanent placement, their importance is high. This first choice will serve as a foundation to her future development and will shape much of her combat philosophy and skill progression.
Alongside our narrative updates, please look forward to art from the fantastic and incredibly talented Inezwandita. I'll be uploading a piece of hers depicting our core cast, as well as future pieces of interesting moments throughout our journey. If you would like to see more of her work, check her out here!
Thank you so much for giving our story a look! This is my first venture into this medium and this style of writing. If you have any advice or constructive commentary to provide, please don't hesitate to do so! I have tons to learn and I'm hoping to grow as a writer on this journey we're sharing!
I'll be conducting regular research into the Final Fantasy XIV canon as I go, but much of the world will be personal interpretation.
Bolded text will be out-of-character, typically me-to-you messages. Italicized text will be internal mono/dialogues such as thoughts or dreams.
Unaffected text is standard in-character fare, nothing special here. Underlined text will indicate hints towards the current poll.
06/22/23: Updates are currently scheduled between one day after poll expiration to a week out. My schedule isn't the most consistent but I will endeavor to have a new post every week.
06/25/23: I just realized I haven't actually provided a current date beyond the year. I'll be adding this to the top of chapter one, and noting it in the start of any post when the date changes.
7/3/23: We've officially benched the Fate Core integration. I'll be cleaning up the assets displaying its rules and whatnot in order to prevent confusion.
Thank you to everyone who weighed in! The votes have tied between two-handed ax, and bow and arrow!
After a decisive coin flip, Marauders have it!
I will be following up with a post either tonight or tomorrow depending on my current workload. Look forward to our next update!
Additionally, I have a personal discord where I'll be sending out notifications of posts and collecting delightful memes. If this interests you, let me know and I'll PM and invite your way.
I also only just realized the emote I chose to react to this was "Funny" and not just a happy smiley face like I first imagined. Definitely should've been wearing my glasses for that one!
Wrapping my hands around the haft of my ax, I pull it from the rack by the throat and study it from eye to end. Unlike the matriarch's massive labrys of shining steel, mine is a single-bevel broadaxe of heavy, crude iron. Its bulk better resembles a hammer than a cutting weapon. But after the last year of training with it, I've at least learned how to handle its weight and balance. Its head is a couple ilm taller than mine and its haft spans three fulm of black ash.
Thinking back, I can still recall the day the matriarch took us out to make it. She had placed an order with one of our neighbors for the ax head while we went out and acquired the materials for the haft. Masha, Tyo'a, and I had traveled deep into the Southern Shroud in search of a particular treant whose wood was as hard as stone.
On the way, Tyo'a had stepped into a poacher's snare and would have been eaten by a passing morbol were the matriarch not present to intervene. It's honestly a small wonder he survived as long as he did with his luck.
When we arrived at the grove where the treant resided, we were met by enormous walls of vines and branches. While my parents debated on how to enter the grove I had begun climbing up the obstacle without a second thought. Once I fully mounted the wall, the structure began to shift and rise out of the ground. Before I could get my bearings, I was thrown over the wall into a dense thicket of thorny brush. It took the entire day for them to cut me out of there, but by the end we'd gathered the wood we needed and then some.
For that reason I don't climb trees anymore.
Shouldering my ax, I nod up to the matriarch, "Ma'am, you remember where we got the wood for this?"
Her expression hardens as she recalls the event, clearly not amused.
"It's there, I think. Or near there."
She nods and guides me out of the tipi by the shoulder. Once beyond the camp's perimeter we enter the woods with a sense of purpose hastening our steps. Before much longer that urge grows from an incessant need for closure to red hot anger and we break into a run. Neither of us exchange any words as we tear through the trees. Nothing needs to be said, really. A beast had claimed one of our own and while Tyo'a was more unlucky than reckless, he was precious to us beyond measure.
My breathing grows ragged at the end of our first hour of running. The matriarch signals a pause with an open palm and stalks forward to walk a perimeter. We aren't far from the site of the destroyed grove now, but we will need all of our energy to confront something that could get the best of Tyo'a. I plant my hands on my knees and pant, struggling to catch my breath. It wasn't an especially hard run, but with emotions running high I almost certainly wasn't paying enough attention to my breathing. Beads of sweat fall onto the tops of my hands so I reach up and wipe them away.
Another droplet, this one larger and cold falls onto my brow and rolls down my nose. I blink reflexively and look up to find a pair of red eyes full of malice and hunger aimed down at me. The beast they belong to is easily twelve fulm long and several fulm wide. Its weight is distributed evenly across four weight-bearing branches with claws fully extended and red with dried blood. A pair of long, twitching whiskers pulse with electricity as they drift to either side of a narrow feline face. Its malice pales in comparison to the matriarch's when her wroth has been fully stirred. Caught alone with this predator I can't help but imagine the sensation of its fangs piercing through my collar and back…
The coeurl's maw parts in a low hiss as its muscles tense in preparation to pounce. I…
In this encounter the coeurl failed its stealth contest by one degree, betraying its position before it can pounce. Y'sera has taken notice of it and has the opportunity to act. The four main actions she can take are described here but I strongly encourage y'all to read through the SRD at your leisure. Alternatively, you may write in any idea that comes to mind and I'll handle the rest.
I will offer two choices, without calling upon any aspects or compels, as well as a write-in. For the latter, consider all of what is available to Y'sera and don't be afraid to ask any questions about the setting or the game rules.
[ ] Attack! Y'sera will unlimber her axe and spring forward with fire in her eyes and vengeance upon her lips!
[ ] Retreat! Y'sera will attempt to regroup with the matriarch in order to stand a better chance of winning!
[ ] Write-in!
Place your votes below. Twenty-four hour timer starts now!
I am not very familiar with the workings of this system, so I'll have to rely on predetermined options until I get the hang of it. Give us a hint if there's an idea our character could use?
[x] Attack! Y'sera will unlimber her axe and spring forward with fire in her eyes and vengeance upon her lips!
I am not very familiar with the workings of this system, so I'll have to rely on predetermined options until I get the hang of it. Give us a hint if there's an idea our character could use?
[x] Attack! Y'sera will unlimber her axe and spring forward with fire in her eyes and vengeance upon her lips!
