Crystal Fish

I've started up business again, though not carpentry. Bonchacha is currently peddling our raw wood and lumber away in the wards. I hope to finish what I started with carpentry and botany in the future, but for now it is just taking up space I could better utilize. Kalokoko is in the marketplace selling off shards that I'm working myself hard to keep up with demand (and failing!). Nimla has taken on an alchemical apprenticeship under my tutelage and works the crystals into shards while I fish what needs to be fished and work the fish into crystals. It is tiring, but incredibly profitable.

My Favorite Fishing Spot

Lightning Crystals - I farm these from Black Sole and store them to turn other fish into other crystals. I've been selling lightning shards this week, but I'm about to start stockpiling them again as I cannot meet demands without saving every crystal I have. Black Sole are caught at the ferry docks in Thanalan at a depth of (-4). I have been fortunate using a Sinking Minnow, but I've heard tell that Floating Minnow also attract their eye. I need these most of all to fuel my other formulae but they are a tricky, slippery fish. They are a challenge to hook even after all my experience pulling.

Wind Crystals - These are the sacred fruit of carpentry and other professions. I am wounded to see them go, but they are too profitable to hold on to for my own pursuits and pleasures. They are perhaps the easiest for me to gain by harvesting Crimson Crayfish along the shores of Iron Lake at a depth of (-4). I use a Wildfowl Fly lure and have almost uninterrupted success with the Crimson Crays.

Fire Crystals -  There's a small creek near the camp at Nine Ivies that holds both Velodyna Carp and Northern Pike which are both useful. The Carp can be found at a depth of (+3) using Wildfowl Fly lure. Alternatively, Haraldr Haddock at a depth of (+2) near off the coasts of Bald Knoll are easy to catch while hunting Saber Sardine as well as the challenging Wahoo though Haddock are attracted to Spoon lure. 

Earth Crystals - Both Southern & Northern Pike are the key to earth crystals. I prefer to fish the Northern variety in the streams around Camp Nine Ivies while I'm also working on Velodyna Carp. They also enjoy Wildfowl Fly lure so simply need to switch my depth to (-1).

Ice Crystals - I find that Camp Bald Knoll is currently the best place to hunt Saber Sardine. I'm not aware of any other location to find them. They swim at a depth of (+2) with Haraldr Haddock. You'll also get a shot at a few Wahoo there. I don't know what lure or bait they truly enjoy but I've been using my like Cage Feeder. It's a good spot to pull three different types of crystal making fish.

Water Crystals - As far as I know Wahoo are the legends of the sea around La Noscea. I find them off the coast near Bald Knoll. They are a formidable adversary. I struggle to reel them in right now but I'm hoping with practice and a little luck I'll get better at it.  They are elusive even at their natural depth of (+1) which is close to Haraldr Haddock and Sabre Sardine so it's worth it to spend time on the coast there. I am not aware of a particular bait or lure they enjoy more than others so I resort to my lucky Cage Feeder.

These are the the compiled notes I have on effective methods of hunting the fish I need for crystals. I'll jot down any new notes as they become available. It's nice to be making money of the things I enjoy and turning it into a family business as well. I hope it lasts longer than my stint with carpentry lasted. It's certainly more lucrative.

The Dreamer Awakens

I've been dividing up my time between working with alchemical formulae in Ul'dah and fishing off the coasts of La Noscea so I get to drop in at the Phrontistery every now and then. Today I stopped into the children's ward hoping to see how Damielliot was doing. Apparently his condition had worsened since the last time I stopped in. His room was flooded with concerned children, which made it difficult to administer unpleasant treatments. I offered to offer my assistance helping the children get through this hard time. First line of business, however, was to see if I could glean any helpful information by using the Echo on Damielliot.

Sleeping Damielliot

It was odd. Hadn't I thought to do it before? Perhaps I wasn't as comfortable using the Echo before or perhaps because he was a child, but I felt I could really help and so I delved into his mind and into his past. It's beginning to feel unusually natural to rely on the Echo and to glimpse the truth hidden behind the present day. The transitions from present to past memories go almost unnoticed. I hope this doesn't mean that in the future I'm unable to tell the difference, but it seems absurd now because using the Echo seems so "distant" or "ethereal."

This is Dragon Country!

I found myself somewhere in Coerthas and Master Damielliot lying in the grasses at the bottom of a ravine. I feared the worst and his thoughts confirmed my fears - he had fallen. It must have been fifty or eighty yalms! He was muttering about a dragon, too. Could it be the dragon from his stories? I've heard of dragons that roam Coerthas, but have yet to actually see one. In retrospect it reminds me of my adventures with Morys, but at the time I could think of nothing more than to ease the boy's suffering. I put together a salve that he incidentally had the recipe and ingredients for - perhaps he managed to make it himself in the past where I do not use the Echo? ...or did I use the Echo in the unforeseen future to cure him in the past before I had ever met him? I know not.

Faustigeant Salve

He was able to stand and speak and presumably return to his family - though he confirmed to me in the fleeting instant I remained in his memories that he was the boy from the story. He had been rescued from brigands by a dragon and brought to this ravine somewhere near Camp Dragonhead.

I returned to the small room in the children's ward and stood once more beside Damielliot's bed. As the present formed around me I watched as his eyes opened clearly for the first time since I'd known him. The children were delighted and his nurse rushed to tell the guildmaster. He spoke only three words to me then and I knew what I had done in the Echo had made a real impact. "You saved me."

I will never forget that. Nor will I forget the power of the Echo frightens me as much as excites me.

Lord of the Inferno

I ran into Hero today at the center of Ul'dah. I could see he had a lot on his mind so I stopped to talk with him. He'd been thinking of what the Antecedent had told us and decided he wanted to take it a step farther. He asked me to accompany him to the Amalj'aa stronghold of Paglth'an to convince the Amalj'aa to join the city-states in standing against the Empire. It was bold and dangerous, but we had spoken with them before so perhaps it fell to us to do this for Eorzea. It took me a while to get my mind around it. Was there no one else who could make this right that it falls to Shai and Hero?

Of course I had to stand by my Path Companion, but this situation was serious and I could not do it alone. I could not go forward without Nimla involved in these decisions. So far I have walked the Path without her - doing odd jobs for the Adventurer Guild, the Waking Sands and the Ashcrown Consortium - but the fate of Eorzea and certainly my fate as a citizen of the city-states may lie in the balance.

Our plan was to intercept a Paragon headed to Paglth'an and try and convince him in order to sway the Amalj'aa. It would give us a solid foothold in negotiations to have a Paragon argue our case to the beast tribes.

Off to See the Paragon

 Nimla and I met up with Hero and the sylphs from the Consortium had come as well. Hero worked out to deliver the missive he himself had written for the Consortium and deliver it to the Paragon, but tragedy befell us and our plan was thrown into chaos. The sylph had vanished and Hero, Nimla and I were captured by the Amalj'aa.

Amalj'aa Jail is Dreary

I know not how long we were held in that cave, but we were not alone. There were others trapped with us and some of them behaving rather peculiarly. We weren't left to speculate too long on their fate or what would become of us when our jailers arrived to take us away.

We were taken through the canyons to a clearing at the edge of a cliff - the gates of Paglth'an perhaps. I had lost all sense of time and direction, was starved and thirsty, but bound by these Amalj'aa beasts. What happened next, however, will be burned into my mind (literally) until I die, which through fortune that would not be this day. Through a brief ritual summoning the Amalj'aa called forth a beast so mighty and fearsome I felt it would consume the world in fire as I gazed upon its majesty - Ifrit, Lord of the Inferno.

Hero tried to stop the madness, tried to reason with the primal. He told it of our wish and our plight, but the creature would not listen and spewed forth a devious blue flame that engulfed us and the other prisoners. The Echo shielded Hero and I, but others among us were less fortunate. Their minds had changed somehow. They were no longer prisoners, but slaves to Ifrit's will. If I had not shielded Nimla with my body she would have succumbed to this madness as well.

What's Come Over You?

The three of us immediately began to engage these captives with words and with our weapons when words were not enough and after a long fight we managed to return them to their former selves - Ifrit watched on while we did this, but the Amalj'aa were not amused. They tried to stop us but we subdued them as well.

Listen to Reason!

Then we were left to face Ifrit and Hero spoke once more to this self-proclaimed god. Ifrit insisted we were blind and ignorant. He also said that the Paragon insisted we be left alive but he wished to make us vow not to summon Another. Ifrit left us with much to think about - foremost among those thoughts was how could we summon a primal? Perhaps it had said too much. Are the five races of the twelve also capable of summoning primals or gods? Perhaps the beast tribes were not the only ones after all. Is this the source of the Echo?

Nimla is just as accomplished a conjurer as I and a member of Moogle Knights as well. We have seen our share of battles, but this one left us both overwhelmed. I suspect it is the raw power of the primal that had its influence cast over us - as soon as Ifrit was gone, Nimla used her anima to whisk us back to Ul'dah where I planned to present my report to the Path of the Twelve. 

Minfilia was upset with the liberties we took. It was perhaps unwise of us to go to the Amalj'aa when the eyes of the Empire are everywhere. She was however impressed with what we learned from our encounter with Ifrit and because she felt responsible for putting ourselves in danger gave us a healthy reward for our service to the Waking Sands. I am again left with much to think on including the very nature of the Echo itself.

An Uncertain Future

I was fishing in my favorite spot when I got a notice from Zoxio at the Ashcrown Consortium. I was summoned to duty and left behind my fishing hole to help the sylph at Ashcrown.

 I arrived to find Hero already waiting for me. The Consortium members mentioned the sylph had taken a liking to our work - which many people considered a bad thing. I was slightly flattered, though. Zoxio and Almxio said negotiations were falling apart with the Ixal and they only had one idea left - to gain enough unaspected crystals. Although they offered to help, Hero insisted we would brave it alone. So we headed out to Mor Dhona to find these neutral crystals.

The trip through the Shroud was difficult, but once I made it into Mor Dhona it was oddly peaceful. I buried five crystals around a pool of water and waited patiently for the elemental property to be sucked from them into the soil - I never realized this process could be done and it certainly wasn't difficult. If only getting in and out of Mor Dhona could be done more easily.

Return to Mor Dhona

When we returned the sylph insulted me by telling me they sent my reward to the Waking Sands. Apparently they think I'm made of anima or enjoy long hikes between city-states. They knew I was coming back to the Consortium, why didn't they simply leave my fee here? I suppose there must be some arrangement between the Path Walkers and the Consortium I'm unaware of.

Hero didn't seem troubled by the walk back to Ul'dah. He was more curious about the Paragons and what they meant to the Ixal and Amalj'aa. Apparently these Paragons guide the tribes to the light of the primal ones and so if we could reason with the Paragons themselves we could sway the tribes to use their powers for our cause rather than to make war in Eorzea. It all sounded over my head, but Hero seemed to be moved by the idea. We said no more on the subject. I decided to head to Ul'dah to discuss the Paragons with Lady Minfilia.

As I walked into the bustling streets of Ul'dah I received a notice from Tataru that I was needed at Waking Sands which is convenient because that's why I came to Ul'dah to begin with. I stepped into the Meeting Hall and gathered with the other Walker initiates - alongside Hero. Minfilia gathered us together to warn us about imperial linkshells being passed out and filling the heads of citizens with propaganda. The pearls whisper of the beast tribes secretly plotting to summon eikon to lay waste to Eorzea. This is the first i had heard of these linkpearls despite my various travels among the city-states. The Empire offered its assistance if the city-states would be willing to join the Empire.

What she said next shocked us all. Our ability to speak with the beast tribes - a skill granted to us by the Echo - would mark us as traitors and enemies of the Empire and possibly the city-states if they chose to stand against the beast tribes with the Empire. I couldn't wrap my brain around it and neither could the others. This was my home now! I had worked hard to make sure it was safe; ever attempting to quell the escalating tensions of the beast tribes. Minfilia assured us that we would persevere despite these political upheavals regardless of how they turn out.

Hero pulled me aside after the meeting and asked me if I would come with him to speak to the Antecedent. I had never seen him so worked up, so outraged! He wants to fight the Empire every step of the way and not stand idly by while they poison the minds of the city-states and plan their next move on Eorzea. Minfilia and he exchanged terse words, but then she spoke to us in confidence - that she planned to side with the tribes if it came to that and fight the Empire as outsiders. Wouldn't that mean we would have to fight the citizens of the city-states as well? I'm not sure I have the stomach to fight the people I have fought to protect.

I am scared for the future and what it holds for me on the Path. Would Nimla side with the Walkers or the city-states? How could it come to that? I left the Waking Sands trembling.