weekwizard

The Scions of the Seventh Dawn may be busy preparing for the journey to Ala Mhigo and Doma, but the journey is still far off and your mind too full of recent tragedies and victories. You have time to kill.

So you find yourself wandering into one of your favorite haunts you’ve discovered on your journey in order to take some time to relax and think. Maybe you’ve just finished your favorite meal, or polished off a good ale and had some laughs with the other patrons. You’re in a corner of a quaint little pub, the crowd relaxed and murmuring all around, but suddenly you find your table somehow empty.

Save for you. The Warrior of Light.

And that’s where she finds you: a shrewd Seeker girl, dusty and wild and on the trail of a juicy story. You don’t know where she came from. You don’t know how she found you. You don’t even know her name or who she works for, and you definitely don’t know how she seems to know everything about what you’ve accomplished up until now.

All you know is this: the moment she jabs her pen toward your face as if it were a handheld clockwork voice-recorder, you realize she isn’t going to leave you alone until you answer her questions.

All of her questions.

[TL;DR: Your player character Warrior of Light has been cornered by a reporter for a magazine. What initially seems to be a legitimate and thought-provoking interview, however, quickly reveals itself to be fodder for a gossip rag fueled on accusations that are either eerily true or totally sensationalist. This is a character voice exercise, meaning the responses only need be truthful if the character in question would tell the truth! Also, please feel free to embellish or skip particular questions as it suits your fancy.]

WARNING: Questions contain spoilers for various major story events up to and including patch 3.56. View with care!



“Your reputation precedes you as a Warrior of Light - perhaps even the Warrior of Light - but how would you introduce yourself?”

"The name on my mishandled paperwork upon entering Eorzea read "Patchi Connaissance", but my proper name is Patchouli Knowledge. I have many titles, but the one I tend to go with these days is simply "Scholar", though not just of the popular Nymian variety."

“What inspired you to take up adventuring? Any family or friends from home cheering you on? Where did you grow up?”

Where I grew up is of little concern, but most of my youth was spent in a vast library, reading and studying its contents. I would have been quite content to stay there, but a certain incident drove me out into the world. Being an adventurer was not my choice, though I suppose I did take to it rather well after a while."

"That should be vague enough. Patchy would rather not let slip that she isn't from this world at all, as that would cause much undue confusion. Better to keep it simple and vague.

“What combat and/or trade specialties do you study? Did you have any particular training before joining the Scions of the Seventh Dawn?”

"I had some experience with arcanamia when I started, and the Scions took notice of me, but my true skill lies in the realm of black magic. I still practice a form of arcanamia, however, incorporating the modern teachings of Limsa's Arcanist guild with fae healing magics and battle tactics of ancient Nymian scholars. Aside from that, I have also repurposed older and more primal black magics for melee combat when the need arises, emulating the styles of a Dark Knight without having to deal with the annoying 'power through pain and suffering' bit.

All that said, I have dabbled in just about every major discipline found in Eorzea in order to get a fuller understanding of how aether functions with different fighting styles. I have rather interesting findings, but those will have to wait until I can finalize and publish my research."

“How do you prepare yourself before a coming battle? How do you ready yourself mentally?”

"The best way is to know what you're getting into. Know the area, what you may be facing, what resources you and any threats have access to, so on, and so forth. Even against an unknown enemy, it is possible to glean some useful information from related subjects. For example: primals are simply aggregations of the will of their followers, and as such, tend to follow battle tactics similar to those that summoned them."

"Of course, there is an element of uncertainty present in every situation, and I don't have all resources available to me at every moment, but even then, there are standard practices I can fall back on and adapt as the situation requires."

“What do you find hardest about being on the road so often? Do you enjoy traveling so much?”

"Logistics, mostly. When traveling by myself, it's not much an issue, but with even a small group, keeping track of supplies can be a nightmare, and that is only if everyone involved is cooperating."

“Describe the most beautiful place you’ve seen on your journey.”

"Hm... Hidden in the Dravanian Hinterlands is the Great Gubal Library, a Sharlayan building that houses a collection of knowledge that would rival even the grandest of Garlean repositories. Shelves of books are stacked as far as the eye can see, with stories upon stories of collected and organized knowledge and literature. It used to be even more grand, but it has been abandoned for years, and overrun with voidsent. However, I still see potential in it, and I spend some of my spare time doing what I can to drive out the vermin and restore it."

“Do you have any advice for the greenhorns just now starting their own adventures in search of greatness?”

"Do not delude yourself by getting caught up in the excitement of bards' tales and written legends. Adventuring is a dangerous, unforgiving occupation, and for every story of success, there are a thousand dead and failed attempts. Further, do not think you will be able to do it alone. You will need help, preferably a close-knit group of allies with whom you can share the journey. While I am credited with 'saving the world' as it were, I only played a small part in a large plan, involving dozens of key players, hundreds of organizers, and thousands of soldiers, each playing their part. Cooperation with friends and allies is how those grand feats of legend were carried out. If you cannot handle that, then you will be a corpse at the feet of the first pair of bandits you come across who can."

“What do you think the smallfolk of each city-state could do to make Eorzea a better place?”

"See my last answer. Change is driven by cooperation. If you cannot figure out how to do something, find someone who can, or get a bunch of people who want to do that thing and figure it out."

“What do you value most in life?”

"Knowledge. Understanding. Knowing how the world works. Wars are won with intelligence and information, and prevented entirely with an understanding of who you would otherwise be fighting. Many, many conflicts and problems can be prevented if you simply have a fuller understanding of both sides of the situation."

“If you could do it all over again, is there anything you would change? Anything you would have done differently?”

"No. We are little more than the collection of our thoughts and experiences. Changing our past would change us, not to mention the myriad of temporal paradoxes that would bring up. Perhaps if I have time I will share the story of Alexander, and how it tried to change the past."

“Is there anything you’re actually afraid of?”

"...I cannot recall. Primal fear for survival is one thing, but a true fear? By this point, I have seen too much to be bothered."
In truth, there was something, but like hell she's going to explain that to a reporter of all things.

“As a Scion, are there any causes in which you find yourself personally invested?”

"'Not letting people die horribly' is a start, but that applies to everything the Scions do. Truly, however, my primary concern in working for them is the balance of power of the city-states, and making sure they continue to work together. If that falls apart, nothing else can be achieved."

“As the Warrior of Light I'm sure you have no end of choices in where to dine, and it sounds like you can't trust just anyone to serve you a mug of ale these days. Do you have a specific chef you prefer, or do you prefer to make your own meals? How do you plan your schedule, meals included?”

"On the road, the group I most often travel with tend to rotate out cooking duty between us. Aside from that, I eat most often with the other Scions, or at certain trusted locations in each city-state. For example, I know the Bismark in Limsa Lominsa takes enough pride in its food to not allow their meals to be tampered with, and I am on good terms with the head chef there. If he doesn't make me something, I step back into the kitchen to make it myself."

“I know most adventurers these days have access to glamour prisms. How important to you is your 'look'?”

There's a deep, exasperated sigh as Patchy attempts to close the front of her coat and fails, leaving her black bra for all to see.

"I have a... complicated relationship with glamour prisms. Something about my personal aether tends to cause prisms to go off on their own around me, and as luck would have it, always end up changing my outfit to something... unnecessarily revealing. I've tried dispellers, but they don't work, leaving me with outfits like this, or worse. It's as if the powers that be want me to show myself off to the world... I've since given up in trying to fight it. I'm loathe to say I've gotten used to showing skin, but it does not bother me now as much as it used to.

If nothing else, the outfits do tend to stay somewhat coordinated, and in my preferred colors, so it could be worse, all told."

“You’re known for having more than a few irons in the forge, so to speak. In addition to being part of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn and on call to numerous battlefronts and political leaders, we hear you might be part of a Free Company as well. Can you tell us about your group? Do you have any exciting stories to share?”

"Wanderer's Haven? We're a group of people who have all been displaced from our homes. We founded the Company so we could at least have something to go back to after the latest battles are done. If nothing else, we make our home in the company of each other, no matter where we may end up.

As for stories... There's too many to tell just one, or perhaps there is just one, but it spans the entirety of our time here in Eorzea."

“You’ve been reported to frequent the Manderville Gold Saucer exceptionally often. Is this because of your ongoing unusual relationship with the family, or might we suspect you have quite the gambling problem?”

"While I am on good terms with the family, my time at the Gold Saucer has nothing to do with it. I don't do much there; simply the jumbo and mini cactpots, and the timed events that pop up every so often. It's a fair place to unwind without the threat of death, and most attractions can turn into reliable sources of points with the right affinity for statistics and probability."

"That, and I wanted some of the prizes they were offering. A flying chair is very useful when dealing with bookshelves as high as the ones I have are.

“What is your opinion on the Ala Mhigan resistance movement and its recent rejuvenation?”

"Inevitable, really. If a people are conquered, it's only natural that they will fight back, as after one has taken everything, there isn't much more to lose. My only concern is the methods they've employed are questionable, at best, and short-sighted and self-defeating, at worst. They've created more problems than they hope to solve alone, and now we must intervene before the situation goes critical and more pointless deaths are inflicted on both sides."

“We couldn’t help but notice that during the Grand Melee between the city-states of the Eorzean Alliance, you fought on behalf of Ishgard. Is that where your loyalties now lie, or do you still don the colors of one of the Grand Companies?”

"That battle was a personal favor to the Lord Commander, and served to cement Ishgard's place in the Alliance. It was a balancing act, to offset the Flame General's presence.

At the end of the day, however, I still do more work for the Maelstrom than anything else. They're the group that tends to get the most done with the least amount of internal strife, an they need what help they can get, contending with two beast tribes and the Garlean navy."

“What are your thoughts on Ishgard returning to the alliance now that the Dragonsong War is over? Are you skeptical of their ability to collaborate with other states after their isolationist tendencies in the past?”

"Not at all. There will be some conflict, both internally and externally, but the major force for staying isolationist has been... eliminated, so to speak. With Amyeric at the helm, they will be fine, at the end of the day, and the Alliance as a whole will be better for it."

“Do you condone the murder of Syndicate member Teledji Adeledji in light of the Sultana being revealed to have a clean bill of health?”

"Successful or not, attempted murder is still attempted murder, and what's done is done. It did more good than harm, and served to reveal a few other bits of corruption to root out. Messy, but necessary."

“Death and tragedy seem to follow you Scions wherever you go! Rumor has it that you even lost one of your members during the siege of Baelsar’s Wall. Could you ever have imagined seeing so many of your friends die before you when you first set out on your journey?”

"Death is a definite hazard for this job, and every one of us have to accept that if we are to get anything done. Papalymo was aware, and went out to save the rest of us from his fate. He will be missed, but he will be remembered, and we will keep fighting for his sake, just as we do for every ally that falls. Moenbryda, Haruchefant, Louisoix, Ysayle. Minfilia, each and every person that bought us the time we needed to complete our mission... We move on for them. We remember them, and press forward, to make something of their sacrifice."

“If you had the choice, would you rather be an ale wench in a pub in Limsa Lominsa or a dancing girl of Ul’dah’s streets? Why?”

"I... what? That is a rather abrupt change of subject, don't you think? Quite frankly, I would turn both those down and find something more in line with my skills. Let's move on."

“One of my sources tells me you recently had the honor of having a private dinner with Ishgard’s Lord Commander himself! How would you describe the… nature of your relationship? ♡”

"There were nine of us there. I highly doubt it was anything past a friendly gesture."

“If you could spend a night alone with any notable individual you’ve met on your journeys, who would it be and why?”

"...I know what you mean by this, and I refuse to stoop to such levels of depravity."

“We've heard you've done an exclusive nude session with a very popular Ul'dahn magazine! Any word on that?”

"What?! I would sooner burn a publication like that before reading it, much less pose for one? Either you have poor sources, or there is an imposter out there that I will need to deal with."

“I just have to ask, for all the interested lads and lasses out there: are you single?”

"Single? Yes. But no, I am not interested. I have no time for romance or any of that nonsense."