[FFXIV JOURNAL] Actual Plot Progression

 I promised last week that I wouldn't spend so much time getting distracted by all the crafting and gathering jobs, and, well...

But I did more than just crafting and gathering! I swear!

So when we last left Razreesh and her adorable coeurl kitten, she was hanging around Limsa Lominsa after playing errand-girl for Raubahn. Naturally, because Razreesh just exudes Protagonist Vibes, people ask her to do a bunch of favours for them, including, "Hey, go clear fearsome pirates out of those caves!"

Welcome to my first dungeon.

So normally when I play MMOs I steer clear of events like this because ugh, forced human interaction. I don't like things that force me to run the dungeon with either a party of friends who may or may not be around when I'm playing (given when I sleep these days, the odds are that they're all asleep when I'm wide awake), or team up with a bunchy of randos who are likely just going to ignore my presence because they've been running the dungeon repeatedly all day and have their strategy locked tight, and I'm only there because they needed one last person to open up the dungeon. Or maybe those people are running dungeons repeatedly because they know that newbies will likely need some help and they want to make the process easier.

Either way, I don't like that. Hell, I'm the weird-ass who somehow glitched their way solo into a multi-person raid in Neverwinter. I don't know how it happened. The experience was rough, because it wasn't designed for a single person. But I felt so damn much pride at doing it all by myself that I'd happily run all raids and dungeons that way if I could.

(Yes, I know that the MM part of MMORPG stands for "massively multiplayer." Other people are going to be around. Doesn't mean I don't prefer solo play even in those worlds.)

Thankfully, FFXIV is one of the growing number of MMOs that is balanced for both those who prefer to run solo and those who prefer to team up. You can run dungeons with friends, or you can do it with a team of NPCs instead, allowing the framework for a balanced party even if you're just one person. I love that accommodation.

So I ran the dungeon, killed the pirates, was a great hero. Find a few more quests that involve running some dungeons, and because I had an okay experience with the first one, I ran a few more. Mostly because I had to to progress the story, admittedly. They seem to be repeatable, which isn't too bad, but because they're level-locked and adjust your level accordingly, the loot I get from them doesn't really do much for me, if anything, so there isn't much point in me running them a whole lot, at least not at the moment. Maybe when I start experimenting with different combat classes, it'll be worth it, but for the moment, not a big deal.

It should be noted that I also took my first trip to the Gold Saucer, and wow, hello nostalgia. The music is the Gold Saucer theme from FFVII, and that was so cool to hear. Also pretty sure this place will become a massive diversion if I let it, so I noped out pretty fast.

But not before noticing...

...In a world with actual Viera, is this racist? Because this feels like it would be racist.

Anyway, after proving myself to be an amply capable adventurer recognized by important people across 3 major cities, I encounter a young woman being harassed in the street.

Her attackers insist she stole food, she insists she paid for it. Either way, even if she had stolen the food, I likely would have beaten the crap out of her tormentors after hearing them pretty much threaten to not turn her over to the authorities if she agrees to... service them. If you catch my rage-fueled meaning. So, epic beatdown.

After which I have one of my psychic visions about her.

Huh, fascinating. Up to this point, I had only had visions of characters who seemed very important to the plot, so I'd assumed it had something to do with someone's strength of character, or their relevance to world-changing events. But no, now I'm having this happen just in the middle of the street, to people who just seem like any ordinary folk.

I mean, I guess she might become super plot-relevant later, I don't know. But this is an interesting development, either way.

The vision confirms that she did actually pay for the food, though as I said, I'd have laid her attackers out cold for what they threatened even if she had stolen, so that's neither here nor there. But the vision also shows me that Calamity-related refugees keep streaming toward the larger cities, as there was enough casualty from past events to make small towns be able to keep going for a little longer, sometimes, but in the end things became untenable and people had to leave to find a better way. And maybe it will keep going that way, with more and more smaller places reaching a point where they can't keep going and so their people start pouring into larger cities.

There's some weird anti-refugee sentiments in this game at times...

Anyway, once my head clears, there's Thancred again!

He's been watching me, because of course he has, and he seems impressed by the way I handle myself and the tasks set before me. He also seems to know something about my migraine-inducing psychic visions, tells me he knows someone else with the same talent, and invites me to join the organization they both belong to, the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. I'm skeptical, until he says that Momodi knows all about them, so just ask her if I'm curious.

And I trust Momodi. So I'll agree to trusting Thancred's proposition.

For now.

So I go to ask Momodi about all this and...

Okay, when I first met Momodi, she said she wanted me to "muse on the many manhoods of [my] acquaintance." Now I overhear her telling a male adventurer that she's happy to hear him gripe about his problems with women.

...Momodi doesn't like women, but loves dicks.

Anyway, I ask Momodi about this mysterious organization, and she seems a little concerned about some of the things they do, but says I can trust them. She tells me where to find them after swearing me to secrecy about the location, so now it's off to the Waking Sands in Vesper Bay, in western Thanalan.

...What?

Anyway, I head to this super-secret location and meet a bunch of definitely-not-intimidating people.

Plus Thancred.

The Scions are all about safeguarding Eorzea's future, and right now, that means dealing with the primals. Primals are godlike things that pose a threat to everyone and everything, and who take a colossal amount of aether to summon, so it's no mean feat. If someone's doing it, they're doing it for a purpose.

The Scions's leader, Minfilia, also has visions like I do. She calls it an Echo.

She's sure that the Echo will be crucial to taking down the primals... somehow, and asks that I agree to join them so that I can turn my talent to their goals. And sure, I'm down for that. I've been encountering a lot of weird people who give me migraine-visions, and I'd kinda like to do something about that, and also I don't want a bunch of people to die, so our goals are aligned.

That's when Minfilia drops the bomb that nearly everyone standing in that room is an Archon, someone who didn't flee the land of Sharlayan when the Garlean Empire attacked and who instead chose to stand fast and use their resources to fight back. Leading up to the Battle of Carteneau, where their leader was taken from them. But they persevered, and found Minfilia, and founded the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, with the intent of continuing their efforts to preserve the future of the land when it's threatened.

Still not explaining why psychic visions are going to help with that, but okay, maybe that explanation will come later.

My first task for the Scions is to help the Immortal Flames. A crystal caravan went missing, and people near where it was headed were kidnapped, and there's reason to believe a primal was involved, since they think the problem was the Amalj'aa, who worship Ifrit. So, primals are basically Summons? Okay, gotcha.

 I investigate and find that there were some Amalj'aa near an destroyed caravan, but far more than were expected for the usual raiding parties they send out, so clearly something else is going on here. This is a mystery that requires my utmost attention.

Which I'll get back to right after I learn how to fish. Promise.