Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn – Relighting the Torch

Fraeloef, a Yellowjacket on guard duty in Swiftperch, wants you to visit the Brewer’s Beacon and investigate the reason behind the waning light.

Fraeloef: You there. Adventurer. Cast your eyes towards the Brewer’s Beacon. Does the light not seem uncommonly weak?
Fraeloef: It cannot possibly be bright enough to guide the ships sailing in the bay. I would march over to the lighthouse and investigate myself, but I am duty-bound to remain at my post.
Fraeloef: I would consider it a favor if you could make a visit to the Brewer’s Beacon and see if aught has befallen Khanswys, the lighthouse keeper.

Khanswys: Ye say a Yellowjacket sent ye here? Eh? Me light’s grown dim, has it? Well, o’ course it bloody has!
Khanswys: The bomb what fuels me furnace has up an’ buggered off, ye see. If I don’t get that beacon fixed up soon, there’ll be trouble on the water…
Khanswys: I know yer just the messenger, lass, but I can tell a ‘venturer when I see one. I’m goin’ to need ye to chase down that bomb an’ bring back a claw what ye ripped from its smolderin’ corpse.
Khanswys: Take this here iron brazier an’ set her down in the middle o’ the Flock─somewhere near the scarecrow, I’d say. Ye get a nice fire goin’, an’ that frisky bomb’ll soon be about. Watch ye don’t singe yer eyebrows, lass.

Khanswys: All ye need do is take down that runaway bomb an’ bring me one of its little claws.
Khanswys: Ah, ye got the ashy bastard, did ye? Once I put this little firecracker in the furnace, that should keep things runnin’ for a while.
Khanswys: I had meself a bit of a look while ye was gone, an’ Llymlaen curse me if the furnace weren’t all bent an’ broken. Small wonder the bloody bomb was able to escape.
Khanswys: I patched things up as best I could, but I ain’t no smitty. Ye might want to have a chat with that Yellowjacket friend o’ yers in Swiftperch, an’ have him pass the word back to someone in Limsa.

Fraeloef: The furnace is damaged, is it? Very well, I shall write up the relevant reports, but these repairs must needs be effected without delay.
Fraeloef: It seems I have another favor to ask of you, adventurer. Take yourself straightway to the Armorers’ Guild in Limsa Lominsa and explain the situation to Forgemaster H’naanza.

H’naanza: The furnace in the Brewer’s Beacon needs repairs? Byregot’s beard, I just sent someone out to tinker with it not a week past. Mayhap the bomb Khanswys had trapped in there was a touch too volatile…?
H’naanza: I’ll have an artisan visit the lighthouse and pay special attention to reinforcing the casing of that furnace. Your work is done here, adventurer. May the Navigator guide you on your journeys.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn – In the Grim Darkness of the Forest

Theodore is looking for an adventurer to deliver a message.

Theodore: It is─regrettably─my duty to stand watch over the road from here to Bentbranch Meadows.
Theodore: The ranch has become a veritable institution of Gridania, so any threats to its continued operation are taken quite seriously by the Wood Wailers.
Theodore: Which reminds me─mayhap it was my imagination, but I believe I caught a glimpse of some shadowy fellow not too long ago. Would you mind passing word to Roseline down below? I would go myself but, well…it’s hard enough marshaling the courage to walk the root for my shift…

Roseline: A shadowy fellow? Hmmm…now that you mention it, I may have seen something.
Roseline: I dismissed it as a trick of the light before, but I thought I saw a shadow in the forest to the north. Still, I suspect it is nothing more than a Qiqirn thief on the run.
Roseline: If you must sate your curiosity, by all means investigate. Should you actually find something of note, I would like very much to see it.

Roseline: Hmmm? Have you found something?
Roseline: Remnants of a campfire and a forgotten bag…this could belong to any adventurer or traveler. And inside we have…a chocobo grooming brush and roseling oil?
Roseline: But wait─why would a traveler make camp here, when it would be far safer to beg the hospitality of Bentbranch Meadows?
Roseline: Bugger me, I think this belongs to that stranger said to be meddling with the chocobos! Thank you, adventurer. We have been lax in our duties, but no longer─I swear we will find this shadow.

Four Fundamental Forces – Electricity and Magnetism

Electromagnetism might be the best-known interaction to us. However, we mostly speak about two separate entities. First of them, electricity, is a force our entire modern society is based upon, since it propels possibly all modern devices, from the most primitive calculators to the fastest supercomputers. Without electricity, we would never have televisions, the internet, computers, and a lot more. There is no doubt that electricity is crucial for the proper functioning of today’s society. But what about the other of the two entities? Magnetism is mostly known for being an endearing force, due to which we can attach various objects to our fridges. But is electromagnetism really like that?

It turns out that electricity and magnetism are very closely related. So related, in fact, that one could not exist without the other. If you move an electrically charged particle (electron, for instance), a magnetic field is spontaneously formed around it. Conversely, anytime you move a magnet, an electric field is created. This phenomenon is exploited in power stations. Nearly all power stations are built on the principle of electromagnetic induction – a magnetic field is placed to the vicinity of an electrical conductor and spins perpetually (here, different types of power plants come into play – each type achieves the spinning of the magnetic field in a different way), which causes electric current to form in the conductor.

Just like gravity, electromagnetism has an infinite range. Unlike gravity, however, it does not affect every single object in the universe but only objects with electric charge (opposite charges attract each other, same charges repel). Nevertheless, electromagnetism can be observed all around us. Let us now describe individual manifestations of electromagnetism one by one. And we are going to start somewhat unexpectedly – with sight.

Sight is the most important of human senses. More than three quarters of all sensory perceptions our brain receives to process are provided by our eyes. Eyes that have been through hundreds of millions of years of evolution, so that they can function properly. All the various organs of sight, from the simplest of eyespots inside the bodies of minuscule organisms, to the most perfect eyes in the animal kingdom, have the same mission – to detect a specific part of the electromagnetic radiation which we like to call light.

As the name itself implies, electromagnetic radiation has something to do with electromagnetism. Its creation and propagation occur quite simply – a moving electric field generates a magnetic field, which in turn again generates an electric field, and so on. These repeating fields travel through space-time (at the speed of light, of course) until they reach an impediment that would absorb them.

For example, the electromagnetic radiation sent by the screen of the device on which you are reading these words travels into your eye, where it is absorbed and transformed into electric signals leading right to your brain. Once there, the signals are processed and consequently decoded as an image. If electricity and magnetism were not a conjoined entity, light would not be able to exist.

Now let us move to the subatomic level. Focus on any object in your field of vision. Positively charged protons attract the negatively charged electrons, which ensures the existence of the atoms your chosen object is made of. If we move a level up, we quite likely encounter molecules (collections of atoms) of the object. These molecules are formed due to diverse chemical bonds, which again are a manifestation of electromagnetism. In short, if this mesmerizing interaction ceased to exist, all objects around you – including yourself – would immediately break up into individual subatomic particles.

As we have just demonstrated, electromagnetism is, just like gravity, crucial for the existence of the cosmos as we know it. The manifestations of this interaction could be discussed much longer. However, we are going to move to the next, no less important force – the strong interaction.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn – The Perfect Swarm

Drunken Stag wishes to repay your kindness with some useful information.

Drunken Stag: You’d like a chance to make some money, right? Then I know just how I can repay you for your kindness.
Drunken Stag: Swarms of sun midges have been harassing travelers along the road connecting Horizon to here. It’s gotten so bad that the Brass Blades have started paying folks to keep the roads clear.
Drunken Stag: If you find it hard to believe that swarms of tiny midges could be so troublesome, then you’ve never seen a chocobo driven into a frenzy by one. There’ve already been some terrible accidents.
Drunken Stag: Do your part and slay a few swarms. After that, let Fufulupa know. He’ll reward you for your trouble, and maybe even offer you more work.

Fufulupa: Greetings and salutations, adventurer. To what do I owe this─
What, you’ve slain how many swarms of sun midges!?
Fufulupa: You have my sincerest thanks! The Brass Blades have been struggling to keep them in check, so your assistance is greatly appreciated.
Fufulupa: Will you be staying in Horizon long? If so, there is much and more you can do to help here.

Great Nebula in Carina

460 LIGHT YEARS

The Great Nebula in Carina, formally called NGC 3372, lies in one of the brightest ports of the Milky Way. It boasts several massive stars and other nebulae — you know, the usual. The most energetic star within this nebula used to be the brightest star in the sky around 200 years ago — then it slowly faded. Take that as a lesson, kids, even interstellar fame isn’t forever.