Author Archives: Keishinrei

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn – Eggs over Queasy

Galfrid, chief instructor at the Bannock, wishes you to collect chigoe egg sacs.

Galfrid: Mortimer, injuries to several of my men have left me shorthanded, and I require a capable sort to complete their unfinished duty.
Galfrid: The task is simple: put down as many of the local chigoe population as necessary to acquire three of their egg sacs.
Galfrid: Having done so, you are to deliver them to Monranguin at Gilbert’s Spire. He will answer any queries you might have. Now, I have other business to attend to.

Monranguin: Ah, you must be the adventurer standing in for our injured companions. Terribly unfortunate business, that.
Monranguin: It seems, however, that you had little trouble gathering the egg sacs in their stead. Excellent work. I shall have them sent over to the Trappers’ League immediately.
Monranguin: Lest you wonder, these egg sacs are not destined for the dinner table! Members of the Twin Adder and the Wood Wailers are assisting the League by collecting the samples they need to check for signs of sickness.
Monranguin: The chigoe, you see, is one of the few creatures capable of transmitting the disease known as the Creeping Death. Until relatively recently, any Hyur who contracted this ghastly illness would almost invariably perish.
Monranguin: Indeed, a single outbreak once claimed the lives of a third of the Hyuran population here in Gridania. That was a long time ago, of course. With the medicines available to us now, the Creeping Death is not the killer it once was.
Monranguin: Even so, it is best to halt any new outbreaks before they occur. Thus we gather chigoe eggs on a regular basis in order to assist the Trappers’ League with their ongoing research. Your timely assistance is most appreciated.

History of Our Cosmos – Atoms, Stars, and the Reign of Gravity

Once the first violent fraction of a second was over, the evolution of the universe slowed. A lot. The key expressions for the following development of the cosmos are cooling, expansion and the synthesis of simpler structures to create more complicated ones. About a millionth of a second after the Big Bang, the temperature of the universe decreased to such an extent that the simplest particles started joining to create more complicated particles – the first protons and neutrons came into existence. A few minutes after, these particles started clumping together and the first atomic nuclei saw the light of day. This process is called the nuclear fusion.

The temperature of the cosmos was approximately one billion degrees Celsius back then – still a breath-taking value but ridiculously small compared to the prior values. Just 20 minutes after the Big Bang, the temperature of the universe was no longer high enough to sustain nuclear fusion. The creation of new elements ceased for several million years – until the first stars initiated it again.

When the fusion stopped, three quarters of all matter in the universe formed hydrogen nuclei (the lightest element), the last quarter made up helium nuclei (the second lightest element). However, it took another 380,000 years before electrons bound to them, which flooded the cosmos with the first atoms.

380,000 years after the Big Bang, a new epoch of the universe began. Photons could finally move freely through space-time due to the creation of atoms. But what is more, a seemingly innocent force that was present almost from the very beginning slowly started to gain power – gravity. One of the following chapters is dedicated to this fascinating interaction, for now you only need to know one thing – every single object in the universe is attracted to every single other object, while the amplitude of the force with which they attract is proportional to the square of the distance between the two objects. What does it mean? Simply said, if two objects are one meter apart, the gravitational force between them is four times as great as if they were two meters apart.

The gravitational force, even though it is the weakest of the four fundamental interactions (again, you will have to wait for the following chapter), has become the unquestionable dominant force of the universe. Right after the Big Bang, tiny disproportions in the distribution of matter were produced due to vacuum quantum fluctuations. Imagine spilling a handful of sugar on a paper. It is hugely unlikely that each section of the paper would contain the same number of sugar grains. On the contrary – some spots would contain large clusters of sugar, whereas others would hold no sugar at all. And something similar happened to the early cosmos – some sections of space-time simply contained more energy than other sections.

In places with a higher concentration of energy, more elementary particles, more atomic nuclei and eventually more atoms were created. This was crucial for the following development of the cosmos. Were it not for the early fluctuations causing disproportions in energy density, each bit of the universe would contain an identical amount of matter and gravity would never be able to show itself.

It is as if you tried to move a cube but you would keep pushing all faces with exactly the same force – the cube would stay in place no matter how large the force would be. However, if you applied just a little more force to one of the faces, the cube would start moving in the direction of the force. To some extent, this is what happened in the 380,000 years old universe. The parts of the cosmos with a higher concentration of matter gravitationally affected each other more and began happily attracting – the first nebulae saw the light of day.

Then, these nebulae were becoming denser and denser due to gravity and the temperature in their cores was gradually increasing. After several hundred million years, the temperature in their hearts was so high that nuclear fusion was ignited – the first generation of stars was born. These stars then went on to clump together into enormous formations called galaxies, which exist to this day and often contain up to billions of astral residents.

All that time, however, stars were doing something immensely important – they transformed simpler elements like hydrogen and helium into more complicated ones. The universe beheld elements like carbon, oxygen and iron for the first time. But every star has to die eventually. The early stars were usually gigantic and ended their lives in massive explosions, during which they ejected an enormous amount of material into the surrounding space.

The material then went on to create the next generation of nebulae and the entire process repeated – the nebulae formed new stars which in turn built more and more complicated elements. These were once again expelled into the adjacent vacuum. However, some of the elements started forming new structures, which had never existed before, called planets – smaller cosmic objects in which nuclear fusion is not ignited. Planets usually revolve around a parent star. Such a star was essential for the early planets, since it supplied them with necessary energy, which allowed various chemical reactions to occur. These reactions then enabled the formation of the first amino acids. Then, after many years of effort, at least one of the planets created the most complicated known entity in the whole universe – life.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn – Step Nine

Cicidoa needs a reliable adventurer to deliver a gift to the Coffer & Coffin.

Cicidoa: You’re an adventurer, yes? If you’re not otherwise occupied, I’ve a favor to ask. I’ve resolved to repay a debt of gratitude, which I owe to the owner of the Coffer & Coffin.
Cicidoa: For this purpose, I’ve purchased from the Royal Plantations a prodigiously plump pumpkin─a particularly popular piece of produce.
Cicidoa: Alas, I cannot part this place to procure and proffer the pumpkin. You see, the scheduled shipment from the Nanawa Mines, for which I wait, is late.
Cicidoa: I would prevail upon you to pick up the pumpkin in my stead, and see it safely to the Coffer & Coffin. Present this receipt of purchase to Gagari at the Royal Plantations, and she will yield it to you.
Cicidoa: I apologize for asking you to attend to this time-consuming task, but I truly appreciate your assistance!

Gagari: If Cicidoa doesn’t come calling soon, this spectacular specimen shall sadly be past its prime…
Gagari: Oh, so you’re to deliver this decadent delight? I can say with confidence that any gourmand would be grateful for such a grand gift.
Gagari: Here is the pumpkin. I hope it meets with Roger’s approval.
Gagari: Fresh produce is somewhat scarce in these parts, and as such we are always deluged with demand.
Gagari: You know the way to the Coffer & Coffin, correct? It is beyond the bridge to the northwest. Look for a place where local laborers lounge.

Roger: Drink fer ye, lassie? Ye won’t get better ale or spirits fer yer coin than at me place.
Roger: What’s that? Wee Cicidoa asked ye to bring this here to me? Ha! Heh, so even that foul-mouthed drunk knows the meanin’ o’ remorse. Reckon this is fer the time I carried his drink-sodden arse back home.
Roger: But hells, an honest-to-gods pumpkin from the Royal Plantations! I can’t wait to see what the cooks’ll do with her.
Roger: The lads here scoff down beastly amounts o’ meat, an’ it’s startin’ to tell on their health. It’ll be good to get more vegetables in their bellies─assumin’ I can get the stubborn bastards to try somethin’ new. Thanks fer the help, lassie!

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn – Lurkers in the Grotto

Staelwyrn, the owner of Summerford Farms, has a task for a competent adventurer.

Staelwyrn: Ah, Croix. That aura of confidence tells me you’ve not been idle since last we met.
Staelwyrn: I hope I’ve read you aright, for I’ve a task that requires the attention of a capable adventurer. Might that adventurer be you?
Staelwyrn: Good to hear. Then I shall lay before you the sorry tale.
Staelwyrn: You will have heard rumors of the abductions. Aye, citizens have been disappearin’ from every corner of Limsa Lominsa, as if plucked from the face of Hydaelyn, boots and all, by an unseen hand.
Staelwyrn: And what’s this got to do with Summerford Farms, you might ask. Well, that remains to be seen, but it seems a collection of right unsavory fellows with azure-tattooed faces has been creepin’ up to the edges of the fields and spyin’ on my yeomen.
Staelwyrn: Now, I doubt anyone would enjoy bein’ scrutinized by such savages at the best of times, but the farmhands are convinced that they’re the kidnappers of rumor, come for their hides.
Staelwyrn: Needless to say, they’re beside ’emselves with worry, and their work’s sufferin’ for it─which is the very last thing I need when my old crewmen are still gettin’ used to their new jobs. ‘Tis a struggle to get ’em to leave the farmhouse of a mornin’.
Staelwyrn: That is, as they say, where you come in. Would you be willin’ to investigate these tattooed thugs for me?
Staelwyrn: Good lass. The sooner we get to the bottom of this, the sooner this place will start to resemble a workin’ farm again.
Staelwyrn: I suggest you begin by havin’ a look around Seasong Grotto. If reports are to be believed, our unwelcome visitors have occupied the place.
Staelwyrn: Be careful, though, Croix─I couldn’t say for sure what manner of miscreants we’re dealin’ with here. If they are the kidnappers…well, just be on your guard, all right?

???: I am the waves that bear.
I am the winds that guide.
???: I am the evening stars.
I am the morning sky.
I am born of the sea.
And there shall I die.
Cultured Conjurer: Thus reads the Sailors’ Requiem carved into yonder stone.
Cultured Conjurer: Such words well describe the manner in which the citizens of Limsa Lominsa live their lives.
Cultured Conjurer: It is both a litany against misfortune for those out on the waves…
Cultured Conjurer: …and a prayer that the souls of those who perish on land might find their way back to the sea.
Cultured Conjurer: Ah, you are the adventurer I’ve seen around Summerford Farms.
Cultured Conjurer: I thought myself on the trail of the kidnappers, but it would seem I have missed my mark.
Cultured Conjurer: …Or perhaps not.
Cultured Conjurer: As I suspected, the aetheric disturbance here is no natural occurrence.
Cultured Conjurer: Nor is it a coincidence that the two of us should come here in search of those responsible for the disappearances only to be attacked.
Cultured Conjurer: But who stands to benefit from the keeping of this secret?
Cultured Conjurer: Such thoughts must wait. Let us attend to the task at hand, unpleasant though it be.

Cultured Conjurer: Awake again, are we?
Cultured Conjurer: Aha. The poor creature’s fury was kindled with cruel forethought.
Cultured Conjurer: See this blade? I found it in the goobbue’s back.
Cultured Conjurer: I have seen knives of this kind before─they are most commonly used for the cutting of rope.
Cultured Conjurer: It would appear our culprits are seafaring men of some persuasion…piratical being the most probable.
Cultured Conjurer: In any event, you seem much recovered from your sudden…affliction.
Cultured Conjurer: I confess, I was rather taken aback when you collapsed at the very moment of our victory. Mayhap a surfeit of aether…?
Cultured Conjurer: I beg your pardon? A “towering crystal”? I’m sure I don’t─ Oh.
Cultured Conjurer: Well, well… This has been a day of unexpected revelations.
Cultured Conjurer: I must continue my investigation.
Cultured Conjurer: In the meantime, I suggest you deliver this knife to your patron, along with a warning concerning the pirates’ probable involvement in this murky business.
Cultured Conjurer: The days ahead promise little rest, I fear…
Cultured Conjurer: May our paths cross again under the light of the Crystal.

Staelwyrn: Croix! Right glad am I to see you safely returned!
Staelwyrn: My lads were all gabbin’ about hearin’ what sounded like all seven hells breakin’ loose near the grotto, and I feared I’d sent you to your death.
Staelwyrn: If you were in the middle of that commotion, I hope it yielded somethin’ of interest. I’d hate to think you’d risked your life for naught.

Staelwyrn: Hmmm… A blade pulled from the back of a creature you slew at the cave, eh?
Staelwyrn: Aye, I’d agree that such a knife would be part of any seafarin’ man’s kit.
Staelwyrn: I’m startin’ to think that these ruffians are pirates, come to lure my farmhands back to a life of plunder. Chances are, they didn’t take kindly to your appearance on their doorstep, and set a maddened goobbue on you.
Staelwyrn: Aye, the pirates have been addin’ to their numbers of late. I’d best warn the lads and lasses in my employ to be on guard against their schemes.
Staelwyrn: …Hm? You met someone else at the grotto? A woman with a strange contraption…? Ah…Y’shtola!
Staelwyrn: She’s been in Limsa Lominsa for a good while now. Her studies of the aether often bring her out to Summerford, so her presence at the grotto is hardly unusual.
Staelwyrn: She’s an odd-lookin’ lass, I grant you, but she’s not the kind to associate with kidnappers. You may take my word for that.
Staelwyrn: Where trust should be lackin’ is in those yeomen of mine who have yet to wholly relinquish their pirate pasts. The temptation to return to the free and easy life of a buccaneer may prove too strong to resist.
Staelwyrn: You have my thanks, Croix. If it weren’t for the efforts of stalwart adventurers like yourself, this farm would be in a far worse state than it is.
Staelwyrn: Just you keep on lendin’ your talents to those in need, eh? Help bring Limsa the brighter future she deserves.