A parsec, a giant unit of distance derived from trigonometric measurements, is equal to about 31 trillion km, or 3.3 light years, or 210,000 times the approximate mean distance between the Earth and the Sun. This is just under the distance between us and the nearest star. If a parsec were a km, the distance between Earth and Sun would be just under 5 cm.
Nunuzofu wants you to deliver a message to Crescent Cove.
Nunuzofu: Hey, adventurer! Mind runnin’ a message to Crescent Cove for us?
Nunuzofu: Captain Baldewyn’s plannin’ some festivities for the thaumaturges, see, and he wants ’em treated to the finest food and drink. Nothin’ but the best for our distinguished guests, eh?
Nunuzofu: Head west and south to the village and tell Raffe that he’s to deliver a bounty of fresh fish to Horizon for the feast.
Raffe: F-Fresh fish for Captain Baldewyn? Of course, of course! We will do our best, madam.
Raffe: U-Unfortunately, we’ve had a poor catch in recent days on account of the rough seas. More boats should be returning soon, but I cannot promise that their catch will please.
Raffe: But don’t worry, milady! The captain will have his fish! I swear it!
If you have ever observed the night sky, you surely know that it swarms with countless stars of various sizes. It is remarkable when we realise that the light of these stars has travelled many years through space-time before it reached our minuscule blue planet and hit the retina of our eyes, where we are able to detect it and interpret its originator as a peculiar tiny dot in the sky. But what is more, the light from the stars we can observe today is often even several centuries old – this is how long it takes for light to travel the enormous distances that separate us from these stars. Observing the night sky is therefore in its essence like traveling into the past. Who knows, some of the stars in today’s night sky may not even exist anymore.
But even more remarkable is the immense number of stars. If you happen to be very lucky and observe the night sky far away from the cities’ light pollution, you may behold up to 2000 diminutive dots. That may seem like an impressive number, but it is only one fifty-millionth of all the stars hiding in the heart of our galaxy. The Milky Way contains an estimated number of staggering 100 billion stars, our Sun of course being one of them. If we add all the other stars from billions and billions various galaxies of the universe, we get a truly incredible number. The entire observable universe might hold up to 100 billion billion billion stars!
And each star is a little unique. Some finish their lives in a massive explosion, others leave this world in a considerably more peaceful manner. Stars are mesmerizing and omnipresent inhabitants of the cosmos, without which life could not possibly arise. Therefore it is appropriate to understand them at least a little bit.
The life of stars begins in huge clouds (nebulae) made predominantly from the lightest elements. These cosmic clouds perpetually come into contract due to gravity, which gradually raises their temperature. Once the temperature of the nebula reaches a sufficient value, the electrons inside of it decide that they no longer wish to form atoms and a peculiar state of matter called plasma is created. At this moment, the interstellar cloud consists of negatively charged electrons separated from positively charged atomic nuclei.
These hydrogen nuclei then move fiercely throughout the nebula and often come across different nuclei. But once two nuclei get too close to one another, electromagnetic interaction starts showing and swiftly splits them apart again. However, we should not forget that the temperature of the cloud still rises thanks to gravity. Eventually, it raises to such an extent that the nuclei manage to trick the electromagnetic force. The velocity of individual nuclei grows with the temperature of the cloud, so in the end they are able to overcome the immense repulsion of electromagnetism by getting so close that the enormous power of the strong interaction shows itself, and the nuclei are united into a single helium nucleus. At this moment, nuclear fusion has just began in the nebula, which can only mean one thing – a star has been born.
Our newly created star then continues with nuclear fusion, which becomes the source of tremendous energy. Due to this energy, the star is able to stop its own gravitational collapse – up to this moment, the original cloud (star) kept shrinking. Thanks to the energy from fusion, the star is able to create photons – the particles of light, which give stars their distinctive glow. Each star sends off billions of photons into the surrounding cosmos every second. These photons then travel freely through space-time until they reach an impediment that would absorb them and steal their energy.
Sometimes we do not even realize how dependent we actually are on our parental star’s photons. If the Sun suddenly stopped supplying us with its precious light, the Earth would change dramatically in no time. Eight minutes and twenty seconds after the Sun’s extinction, the Earth would submerge into an eternal darkness.
The temperature would fall beyond the freezing point in just a week, which would cause the freezing of all world’s oceans – water in its liquid form would exist just near the ocean floor, due to the heat from the Earth’s heart. Plants would immediately stop producing atmospheric oxygen by photosynthesis, and they would die shortly thereafter. This would cause starvation and early death of all herbivores. Carnivores and omnivores would follow in just a moment – including humans, understandably.
The differences in the Earth’s atmosphere would even out before long, any kind of wind would therefore cease to exist. The same goes for all the rivers of the world, since it would never rain again. All of these huge changes would significantly limit our last chance of survival – the production of electric energy. It is reasonable to assume that only a handful of lucky individuals would be able to survive, though not for long. All the remaining life on Earth would be concentrated at the bottom of the oceans. The Earth would become a dim and eternally frozen wasteland.
However, we do not have to worry about anything like that – for now. The Sun is about to stay here with us for at least a few billion years. But not all stars are this lucky. Some only live a fraction of our closest star’s life.
Victory foreman Ahtbyrm is considering recommending you for an important job involving drydock security.
Ahtbyrm: Meredith. While I originally had doubts about your motives, you have repeatedly proven yourself an asset to Naldiq & Vymelli’s. I still do not like you, but that does not mean I do not trust you.
Ahtbyrm: Ghimthota, head of the watch here at the Drydocks, believes that pirates may be plotting an attack on the Victory, and she requires assistance investigating a group of unsavory individuals making camp nearby. I have recommended you for the task.
Ahtbyrm: Despite all Limsa Lominsa endured before, during, and following the Calamity, the fact that there are still those who would turn their backs on the city-state so that they might line their pockets with a few handfuls of coin… Just the thought of it sickens me.
Ghimthota: Ah, yes. I had a feeling you would be the one Ahtbyrm sent. Since you first arrived at the Moraby Drydocks, I have had my men watch you. Oh, there’s no need to get angry. I make it a point to keep an eye on all those new to the area. It is simply protocol.
Ghimthota: And you’ll be pleased to know that nothing…incriminating was found. You appear to be a model citizen. That, and the foreman seems to think somewhat highly of you…which I must admit is quite shocking. The man doesn’t even trust his own mother.
Ghimthota: Very well, then. I assume Ahtbyrm informed you of what your task would entail. The pirates we believe are conspiring to raid the Drydocks were last seen making camp near an ancient stone called the mark of the Spinner. I would have you approach the men, posing as a lost adventurer, and see if you cannot somehow learn of their intentions. C’nangho stationed at the rear gates can provide you with an exact location of the camp.
C’nangho: Meredith! Ha ha! I knew it! No more sardines for C’nangho. Tonight, I shall dine on the finest salmon on the peninsula! Why? Well, I had a little wager going with some of the other guards on who Ahtbyrm would recommend for the next job. My money was on you!
C’nangho: Ah, the job. Yes, of course. If you follow the road past the gates to the southeast, you will eventually come to a barren cape with a single large stone half-buried in the cliff overlooking the sea. Followers of the Twelve say it’s a holy place dedicated to Nymeia, the Spinner. I’d be surprised if the pirates camped up there were aware of that, though.
Disreputable Pirate: I’m givin’ ye to the count of nine to step back on that path, and carry yer ‘venturin’ arse back down to whatever rock it is ye crawled out from under.
Disreputable Pirate: Ye see, I’s ‘ad it up to me ears with yer type, roamin’ the ‘ills like they was yers to roam. It’s gettin’ to be that a man cannae enjoy a mug o’ rum wivout some shite-breath outlander runnin’ up askin’ which is the way to the local levemete. Seven ‘ells if I know! I’m a bloody pirate, godsdammit!
Disreputable Pirate: Thal’s balls! Once we ‘ave me boy back, I’m puttin’ this godsforsaken piss’ole of an island so far behind me, ain’t no one’ll remember I was ever ‘ere. Come on, scrags. We’s knives to sharpen.
Ghimthota: So the trespassers are indeed pirates, and they are indeed planning something. But what is this talk of getting “me boy back”?
Ghimthota: Could it be that their target never was the Victory?
Ghimthota: Something is not right, and I won’t sit by idly waiting for those pirates to make the first move. I shall order increased patrols immediately. Thank you again for your help, Meredith. It appears we were wise to put our trust in you.
The Pillars of Creation, vast columns of cosmic dust and gas in the Eagle Nebula, are so inconceivably huge that if you started at the tip of the left pillar and flew down in an airplane, it would take 4.5 million years to get to the bottom of the pillar.
Armelle, a local at the Mirror Planks, wishes you to salvage cargo from a wreckage on the road.
Armelle: Might you assist me with another matter, sir? A wagon that departed from Quarrymill was overturned on the road when some large, ill-tempered forest beast chose that moment to defend its territory.
Armelle: By Nophica’s grace, the driver escaped without serious injury, but the wagon’s cargo was not so fortunate. With none willing to risk another encounter with the creature, I can only assume the goods remain strewn across the ground where the incident occurred.
Armelle: Simply follow the road here to the south and you should come across the wreckage. Salvage what cargo you can, and deliver it to Keitha at Bentbranch Meadows if you would be so kind.
Keitha: You have a delivery for me?
Keitha: Ah, this’s the shipment I was waitin’ on from Quarrymill. I heard the wagon ran afoul o’ some great monstrosity just up the path from the Mirror Planks, but I see you’ve managed to scrape together a few bits and pieces.
Keitha: Seems I can’t get through two bells these days without hearin’ some new tale o’ horrors in the Deepcroft or bandit cutthroats prowlin’ the woods hereabouts.
Keitha: Makes me wonder if me chocobos are safe at night, it does. If we’re ever in need of a ‘venturer’s skills, I hope you’ll be around to lend a hand.
If the Sun were a basketball in New York City, Proxima Centauri would be a golf ball in Warsaw, almost 7,000 km away. This speaks to how empty a galaxy really is – not only because the stars are so far apart but because there’s so little in between them that we can see so many in our sky at night.
Keishinrei