Alfgar of Ul'dah

I met Alfgar today. He has been appearing to discredit the dark prophet that has been appearing that I mentioned earlier in this journal. He draws a crowd outside the Adventurer Guild of Ul'dah, across from the chocobo stables by the fountain. There he preaches a counter-message to the crowd against the prophecies of Urianger Augurelt.

Elusive Alfgar

He speaks vaguely of the prophet appearing at camps across Eorzea spreading tales of doom and gloom. He warns not to get caught in the web of deceit. He accuses him of trying to scare the people of Eorzea into hasty actions against yet unforeseen foes. Alfgar states surely that they are not the Archons whose legend have been spreading widely as of late. This prophet is not our savior and he only seeks to cause unrest.

I don't know who to believe but I wish to speak with this Urianger fellow. I have not been fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of him yet, but most of my guildmates and linkshell associates have. I'm simply not in the right place at the right time it seems.

Cactuar Jack & Nest Commander

Today Nimla and I set out into the wilderness of Thanalan to hone our skills against some of the toughest monsters we could find and we were not disappointed. We stumbled into Cactaur Jack, a formidable Cactuar opponent who pushed me to the limits of my conjury and thaumaturgy skills and Nimla getting her first taste of what it means to bring an axe to the front lines.

Capturing Cactaur Jack

Cactaur Jack

• Nophica's Wells (16, 35)
• Fist of the Sixth Sun
• Conquistador's Elmo

I also set out on my own later that day to hunt a giant ant referred to as the Nest Commander. I found him easily north of Horizon, but wondered how he got his formidable name. The only nest he may have been commanding were the hundreds of goats in the nearby dusty hills. Perhaps I found him on a bad day, or a scouting mission - but he appeared to be far from home and easily fell to my magic skills. I managed to pull a very well crafted mask out of his exoskeleton that had been lodged there for who knows how long and later learned it belonged to one known as "Nighthawk."

Nailing the Nest Commander

Nest Commander

• Camp Horizon (11, 25)
• Nighthawk Visor

Righting our Wrongs

I had been uncovered a plan to capture members of the Garlond Ironworks in Limsa Lominsa and Ul'dah so while I do not frequent Gridania often anymore, I felt I should hurry to the city-state and investigate or at least warn them of what had been transpiring. My search for answers would be put on hold until I could make sure that none of the Ironworks' engineers fell to enemy hands.

I headed straight to the Stillglade Fane where I was known and had acquaintances thinking I could get a word in with the elders or at least learn the whereabouts of the Ironworkers so I could investigate myself. Unfortunately I was intercepted by Maroile, a young conjurer at the guild. He asked me if I knew anything about the Watchers outside Gridania which had been filled with a strange oil...

Shai, Do You Have a Moment?

By the Twelve, I did know something about it. I had been the "culprit" who put that oil there to begin with. I didn't tell Maroile this, of course, but I was obligated to set out and right this wrong. He mentioned that the oil was causing the fire elementals within the Watchers to burn violently and behave erratically so he asked me to take a gallipot with a fire elemental and light some fires along the path to help calm the raging fire elementals in the nearby Watchers.

Nimla was involved in this as well, so she offered to accompany me and we set out into the Twelveswood to light the fires and calm the elementals we had inadvertently upset in our previous adventures around Gridania. It didn't take long and we were soon back at Mariole who offered us some old leather tool belts in return for our small service. We would have declined if it wouldn't have looked suspicious so instead we set out to find Sandre and make sure he stops putting that concoction on the Watchers or getting other adventurers to do it.

Making Elementals Cozy

At the Botanist Guild, however, we were stopped by Mestonnaux (who hadn't seen Sandre) and asked if we would be willing to help with an upcoming Cleansing, which Nimla explained was a ceremony and ritual to calm the elements of the Twelveswood who were angered by the intrusion of the Imperial soldiers and machines which were harmful to the forest. Although it was not Gridania who offended the elementals, it would be they who suffered if the elementals decided to purge the forest of intruders. Although I was mostly unclear the details of a Cleansing I understood as a conjurer that it was something of a big deal. I knew Nimla's answer and so we set out together to help Mestonnaux.

What Can We Do?

We were asked to speak to all the Guilds in Gridania and make sure they were prepared to do their part for the Cleansing. It was an easy enough task and I had hoped to learn something about the Garlond Ironworks while we were meeting with representatives at each guild. We first spoke to Biddy at the Stillglade Fane who mentioned her enthusiasm for the fun festival that was involved with the Cleansing. She was relieved to have some moments of fun and relaxation while the darkness that was descending on Eorzea was heavy on everyone's mind. I was reminded that it wasn't just Nimla, Hero and I who carried this burden, but all of Eorzea was aware that something dire was unfurling around us all.

Pensive Biddy

At the Lancer Guild we met Nuala who confirmed they would be ready but also had a message for me to relay back to Mestonnaux. There had been a great tree that had been recently profaned by some creature or construct and it was causing quite a stir in the Twelveswood. I knew he would be interested in this, as was I.

Nuala Has Grave News

At the Tanner's Guild we met with Tatagoi who merely mentioned the Cleansing would protect Gridania from greenswrath as if I understood what that term meant. I don't and the thought of it frightens me so I did not inquire further, but headed to the Archery Guild where Alaire agreed to set up the escorts for the Botanists participating in the Cleansing. Nellaure of the Carpentry Guild told me that they were ready to make the specialized masks for the rite, but also said something about how only conjurers could open the Hedge. I made a mental note to try and discover the meaning of this information. Nimla did not know any more than I did about "the Hedge" or a conjurers connection to it.

Greenswrath in the Bucket

We returned to Mestonnaux and reported all that had been done as well as delivered Nuala's message from the Twelveswood. He was greatly disturbed. He immediately sent us south of Camp Bentbranch to investiage the area as quickly as possible. Did he know something we didn't? I was curious to see this tree myself and know what had caused this great disturbance in the forest, so I grabbed my harpoon that I had been training with lately and rushed out to the scene.

We found the tree that had been profaned and determined it was clawed by some unseen force, perhaps a Garlean machine or some immensely large beast. There was definitely signs of a battle that had been faught here as well, but no blood or bodies to speak of - we traced the signs to a nearby cave and inside we found a small party of bandits! There was no time for talk as they charged us in an attempt to kill us - I knew instantly these were Garleans and they were hiding something. We dispatched them almost effortlessly (the Empire needs to train these infiltrators better) and found captives within the cave as I suspected.

Imperial Ambush

Bardo and Yayatu introduced themselves and as I presumed they were members of the Garlond Ironworks who had been on their way to Gridania. I asked them if they had seen what happened at the tree and Yayatu talked about a bright, shiny force that had been fighting the Garleans. The tree was scarred by the fight between the soldiers and a beast as bright as the sun. I asked Nimla if she had heard of such a creature while studying in Gridania and she said the description vaguely resembled the wrath of an elemental, but she could not be sure as it was too little information.

Unplanned Engineer Rescue

We returned to Mestonnaux who was relieved that we had resolved the situation. I asked him about the Ironworks and he told me that many of the Garlond Ironworks engineers, machinists and technologists were actually born in Garlemald and fled south through Ala Mhigo to Eorzea seeking asylum. Naturally many of them find comfort and respite in the safe boughs of Gridania. When I asked about the Master of the Ironworks, he only knew that he had been meeting with the leaders of Gridania recently, too. Something big was brewing between the city-states, the Grand Companies and the Garlond Ironworks.

Who is this mysterious prodigy engineer? What does the Empire want with these engineers?

Another Ironworks Encounter

Many times since I have come to Eorzea the events I have witnessed have left me wondering "what's next?" Since I've arrived I've been gifted with the Echo and used it to solve many problems around the city-states of Limsa Lominsa, Ul'dah, and Gridania. The threat of the Empire looms over the entire region and now the news and odd circumstances leading us into the so-called 6th Umbral Age. My last meeting with Hero and Y'shtola left me dazed, confused and lost in a world with very few answers. I found myself searching in a likely place - the Temple of Nald on the western edge of Ul'dah.

I had been spending time here (as opposed to the Temple of Thal, a place toward which I was still feeling particularly badly about since learning of their grave robbing ideologies) because thaumaturgy is a connection to aether and embodies life and death. I thought maybe studying thaumaturgy principles would give me a clue about the astral and the umbral - and maybe a glimpse at the Echo. There was a nagging feeling that I would find no answers here.

At the Temple, Milvaneth Sacrarium, I met a Lalafell thaumaturge named Peneli Zuneli who came to me with a problem that he thought perhaps I could help. He explained that an airship coming to Ul'dah had recently been shot down by Imperials and crashed not far from the city. This incident had caused quite a bit of alarm within the city and in order to ease some of the distress the Sacrarium was giving out luck and safety talisman to their more generous donors. Although it sounded a bit like a swindle to me, I agreed to deliver the talisman to the worried (and wealthy) citizens of Ul'dah. I decided it would take my mind off some of the heavier items weighing upon it.

Peneli Zunel

I met Abylgo Hamylgo for the first time, a gladiator ready to join the banner of the Grand Company if the Syndicate was moving to reopen them. While I was at the Colosseum, I dropped off a talisman for the  Master of the Colosseum who hadn't been seen since the attack on the airship. That struck a cord with me, but I couldn't quite place it - was the Master named Raubahn? If so I had heard he was working to open the Grand Company of Ul'dah, the Immortal Flames. Perhaps it was just a rumor.

I had a talisman for Kukusi at the Prhontistery. She told me the Phrontistery had put forth the donation in order to acquire the talisman and ease the worries of the patients who should be focused on getting well and not about the impending Imperial threats. I was afraid of purchases such as these, but I understood the necessity to ease the minds of the already suffering.

One of the principle leaders of the Ala Mhigan refugees in Ul'dah named Naida Zamaida had been incredibly scared since the airship attack with flashbacks of the invasion of Ala Mhigo coming back at inopportune times. I hoped the talisman would work to fight off those terrible thoughts.

The final talisman was delivered to Rorojaru, a wealthy business Lalafell overseeing the Sapphire Avenue. He had been distressed about the loss of life aboard, the airship itself and rumors that brigands were already looting what was left of the ship and its cargo. I decided to mention that to Peneli because I knew that the wreckage of the airship belonged to Ul'dah (and specifically the property of the Temple of Nald who pays for its service and maintenance).

When Peneli heard about this outrageous affront on the Milveneth Sacrarium's property he asked if Nimla and I would go do something about it. I had foreseen this and we were ready. We rushed to the scene and caught the villains red-handed. We defeated them but found that it wasn't the airship or the cargo that had interested them, but two prisoners they had lured to the wreckage.

Hold It Right There!

I was introduced to Nymiene of the Garlond Ironworks - appraently they had been sent to assess the wreckage first as they were working closely with Ul'dah and the Immortal Flames grand opening. This seemed similar to what had transpired in Limsa Lominsa not too long ago. I was forced to assume these bandits we had defeated were Imperial agents who had set out to trap and capture the Ironworks' engineers.

Ironworks' Engineers

I returned to Peneli and told him what had transpired. He explained to me that the Syndicate hired the Garlond Ironworks to work on machinery and maintain the airships. The Master of the Ironworks and the Sultana have been visiting a lot recently. The Master of the Ironworks is allegedly a prodigy with machinery. Many wonder if he can match the military technology of the Empire. I had never heard of him before, but if he lived up to these rumors he was definitely a huge asset to the city-states as an ally. Perhaps the Imperials seek to capture him with these plots.

Reward Please!

Peneli had offered us a reward, but he was very reluctant to part with gil. He spoke of collecting for a new monument or building but I paid it no mind. I am at a loss with these thaumaturge of Nald'thal. Though they speak of spiritual enlightenment and traversing the realms of death, they all seem to share an immediate fascination with coin - and the Syndicate appears to be behind it all.

Taking the Fight to the Empire

I was invited to join Minfilia in a meeting with a client about the plight of the Path. I thought nothing of it as I made my way to the Waking Sands. I didn't realize that my life would change drastically on this day - that my way of seeing the world was going to be violently shaken into new proportions. My journey on the Path of the Twelve had been exciting and sometimes frightening, but none of that could prepare me for what would unfurl on this day I was summoned to the Antecedent's office.

New Allies Assemble

As I entered the office, I was surprised to find not only Hero, but the Ala Mhigan Resistance Captain I had recently met who was now accompanied by his trusted elite. I was welcomed and invited to speak with the Resistance members to hear their stories. Minfilia assured me I would need to hear it all and understand it before I would be asked to make my decision to throw in with them or not. During these discussion I heard some of the foul things the Empire was doing in Ala Mhigo. How they had been enslaved and their children brainwashed to fight for the Empire's cause. I could see how much these men and women longed to reclaim their homeland and right these terrible wrongs that had fallen upon them. The captain's speech in particular was very passionate and moving. I felt inspired to storm Ala Mhigo single-handedly to return it to him if I were able to do so on my own. 

His plan was deceptively simple - attack Silvertear Falls in the Mor Dhona region where the Imperials had set up an impromptu base of operations that was weakly defended and remote. There he hoped to steal an airship and use it to drive the legion occupying Ala Mhigo out of their city and back to their holes in the Empire. Minfilia expressed deep concern for the recklessness of the plan and I agree that it sounded like a long shot. The Captain was insistent however that they must try and with those parting words of determination the Resistance left the Waking Sands.

Hero left to go with him, but Minfilia stopped him to offer a strong word of caution. He said to her that he was simply following his Path and to me that I need not follow if I felt my Path went in a different direction, but after hearing the plan and the tragic story of the people of Ala Mhigo, I was as committed as he.I knew he had his own reasons that he did not wish to speak of and I knew I had to stand by him.

Camp Revenant's Toll

I also new Nimla would stand by me and that we would need all the help we could get so together we headed into the depths of Mor Dhona where we planned to meet up with Hero and the Resistance near Camp Revenant's Toll - one of the few bastions of the city-states left in the region. As we arrived Nimla and I realized we were too late - we could see Imperials fighting on the outskirts of the camp with some Resistance members I'd met previously. They were promptly defeated by a group of three Imperials who then ran east - Nimla and I gave chase in order to locate their base of operations.

After Them!

I identified them as a Centurion, a Sagittarius, and a Hoplomachus of the Imperial Army as we neared some cliffs to the east, but all too late I realized they were giving themselves away and leading us into a trap. Nimla and I gasped in horror as they drew their swords and an airship flew in to reinforce them. We could see as it drew in aether to charge its cannon, standing ominously over the three Imperial soldiers. We exchanged a few words and drew our staffs to end this threat or die trying.

It's a Trap!

I admit to you that I don't really remember much of the battle. Nimla and I managed to avoid the blasts from the airship's cannon and use it to decimate one of the Imperials by watching where the aether gathered around us - I suppose being in touch with aether and the elements did us a great service. We individually took care of the two remaining Imperials and turned our sights on capturing the airship as planned, but not unexpectedly it flew off and vanished. We were left breathless and lucky to be alive. The cannon on the airship is incredibly powerful - instantly vaporizing that soldier who stood in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Nimla! Watch out!

Hero was nearby and attracted to the sound of our fighting, but he arrived just a moment too late to help us. He did have a chance to speak with the Resistance Captain and informed us that the next part of the plan would involve Hero, Nimla and I creating a distraction so the Resistance could get their hands on their own airship. It seemed simple enough so we headed through the cliffs and came out in a clearing on the other side.


We made our way into the clearing looking for some sign of the Imperials and some way to cause a distraction when Hero stopped in his tracks and a dire reality unveiled before us. The Resistance members were dead and bleeding at our feet. The plan had failed. They were all dead. There was sounds of scuffle and we turned to see the Captain looming ominously in the fog, but as we neared we could see he was simply being held by his neck, armored fingers wrapped around his throat. He had been defeated.

As the figure released the Captain, revealing an fully armored human-shape with curled, horned helmet, a blue blast of fire shot out of his wrist and knocked Hero away from us. He was so horrific looking that I'm not sure if he was truly one of the five races or not. His voice was muffled by his black and red armor as he informed us we were foolish to come here and he raised his arm again to fire his fire at Nimla and I...

His efforts were deflected by none other than Y'shtola! How had she come? I hadn't seen her in months. She was not alone, either! She had apparently gathered allies since she'd come to Eorzea many months ago on the same ship as I. There was a Hyur with daggers, a Lalafell mage, and a masked pugilist. They began to battle this armored Garlean demon while Nimla and I stood dumbfounded, unable to only gawk at the sheer power displayed by the five fighting figures. As if annoyed that he was evenly matched, the Garlean lifted his arm to the sky and summoned an explosion that engulfed the entire valley - I have no idea how we survived, but I can only assume Y'shtola protected us with her barriers.

Cave Children

Nimla and I awoke in a cave surrounded by scared children. They spoke to us of their fears of the dark and the cold, but why were they here? How had we come here? Had the Echo brought us both? I was so confused and disoriented by the experience. I began to look for an exit to this cavern and as I did, I heard voices by the children. Nimla and I watched as a ritual turned these scared and frightened children into ... firm believers of the Garlean beliefs - raging against the Beast Tribes and their "Gods" with firm conviction. They had brainwashed these young Ala Mhigan children right before our eyes! What we witnessed reconfirmed my previous questions about the true intention of this Garlean invasion - it was not the city-states they had in sight, but the beastkin and their summoned Primals. What did they plan? Why?

We started to intervene when a commanding voice stopped us in our tracks.Y'shtola stood before us - again appearing out of thin air. She chastised me for rushing to my death and squandering my power known as the Echo without understanding its true potential. She made me realize that I had not questioned it enough. I had no idea what it was capable of doing. She had exhibited the Echo before in Limsa Lominsa - we had seen each other in the visions of the past - is that how she became so powerful? Powerful enough to deflect bullets with her will alone? She told me I should seek out who gave me this gift and demand to know its true purpose.

The cave faded around us and Nimla and I were standing with Hero at Camp Revenant's Toll. I was happy to find him uninjured after all we had seen, but we both knew the meanings of our lives had changed in all this. Hero was ready to forge ahead and find the true purpose of the Echo. I wondered if Nimla had it as well as she had somehow been protected and joined me in that cave with the children. We would all seek out the truth together, I hoped.

All for Love and Alcohol

I had hoped to have a relaxing afternoon, but instead had a small adventure.

I was having a drink at the bar in the miner's guild when I noticed a drunk Roegadyn carrying on in the corner (to himself) and despite my better judgment I thought perhaps I could help him. I stood a moment beside him before he noticed me at all and I gleaned from his mutterings that he had lined up some important meeting after quite a deal of work on his part and had come in for a drink to take the edge off when he had spilled a large sum of alcohol on his best shirt. I shook my head and chuckled and was about to walk away when he noticed me.

Mohtfryd in His Glory

It was obvious by my attire that I was an adventurer, as I doubt this man had heard of my Dodo Slaying skill set anytime recently, and I saw his eyes light up as he scanned me. I feared the worst, but all he asked of me was to retrieve milkworms which he could use to remove the stain, if I would hurry. He told me the worms were a favorite food of moles north of Camp Black Brush.I finished my drink quickly, set aside all reservations I had, and headed out into the field for this poor gentleman.

I rooted around for the worms, fought an angry mole or two, and returned to Mohtfryd with the worms.

This Will Hurt You More than Me, Mole

He was delighted. He could now meet up with the love of his life! I didn't know this was over a woman, but I feared she still may not be impressed with his lack of sobriety. Well, at least he had a clean shirt and as thanks he handed me an old cotton tabard - I'm not sure why he had one sized for a Lalafell, but I didn't bother to ask. Mohtfryd and I parted ways, but I was glad for a change of shirts, myself.

Lance Training Never Looked This Good

The Knights' Messengers

 Yesterday Nimla and I were interviewing members of the community about the merits of fishtack and flour, we were approached by a Knight of the Barracuda named Zanthael who said he had some work for young adventurers like ourselves if we visited him tomorrow (today!) and so we set out to meet up with him under the Mizzenmast by the long bridge leading from the city to the bluffs of La Noscea.

Zanthael told us there was reason to believe Imperial operatives were working outside the city, disguised as rogues and brigands, and because of this the guard needed to be tightened but he couldn't pull Knights from their posts to deliver the orders. This seemed unreasonable to me - could the Knights be this short-manned? It's true they were dealing with the situations of Seal Rock and the sahagin, and now there were suspected Imperials infiltrating the island. I knew it was my civic duty to help the situation and Nimla agreed, although she is mainly unaware of the situation in Limsa Lominsa spending much of her time in Gridania. 

Shai & Zanthael (Nimla Overslept)

Zanthael handed us the arrest warrants and orders to deliver and we set out on the task. We tracked down Bibiraka who was sleeping on the job, but reported that he had heard reports of these brigands seen close to Bearded Rock. The report was odd because they appeared to be searching, rather than raiding and looting like typical rogues and highwaymen in the area. I made a note to pass this information on to Zanthael in case he hadn't heard this particular report.

Sundhimal concurred the information based on her informants' reports within Kraken's Arms and Salthounds who had been tracking these suspicious newcomers in their own way. J'ghonako didn't have much to report other than it used to be a difficult feat to see Imperial airships or juggernauts outside of Mor Dhona region or the Empire itself, but nowadays they were becoming common in the lands of Eorzea and I had noticed this as well. It was certainly disconcerting.

Arthurioux, a clerk at the Coral Tower, was incredibly rude to Nimla and I. We simply dropped off the warrants and left due to him chastising us for being adventurers rather than Knights - as if that was somehow our fault and not Zanthael's for asking us or the Knights' fault for being short handed.

The last person on the list was named Gert and seemed like an average dock worker, who was oddly unimpressed with the reports, orders and warrants. He merely wondered about Empire's true intentions which gave me pause. I had considered this in passing before as well - perhaps the Empire's sights were not set on the city-states at all, but the beast tribes, or the Primals, or something else entirely. That they had conquered Ala Mhigo and not pushed forward for fifteen years until now was a curious oddity. I wondered what Gert meant, but he had turned his attention back to his work.

What Does It All Mean!?

We headed from the docks to the entrance of Limsa Lominsa to finish the task and report to Zanthael, but when we got there we could tell something was going on beyond reports and warrants. Zanthael motioned for us to hurry and filled us in that an operation to flush out the Imperials had been underway after hearing Bibiraka's report on the location of the Imperials and their close proximity to the city. Zantheal was worried that the Imperials would use the caves and tunnels to escape capture and asked us to cut them off while the Knights rounded up the main force and forced them out into the open. Nimla and I quickly gathered our courage and our weapons and set out to the patrol the caves by Camp Bearded Rock.

What Have We Here?

There Are More Inside!

Our patrol ended in success when we managed to block and defeat a handful of Imperials dressed like common rogues as they were fleeing a large cave west of the camp. We were surprised to find that they had captives in tow who they had captured and secreted out of the city itself. We untied these captives and allowed them to return to the city where they would continue to work and help with the set up of the Grand Company, the Maelstrom. Intrigued, I pulled one aside who introduced himself as Kopel Yorpel, an inventor and engineer of the Garlond Ironworks. They had been summoned by Admiral Merlwyb to aid the Grand Company in Limsa Lominsa.

Freeing Ironwork Engineers

Neither Nimla nor I had ever heard of the Garlond Ironworks so we asked Zanthael about it when we returned for him for our debriefing. He explained to me that the Garlond Ironworks is one of the largest collectives of scholars and engineers in the entire realm. They had long strived to uncover the secrets of the Empire's machina so that the city-states of Eorzea could stand on equal ground with the Empire on the battlefield. He had no notion of whether they had succeeded or not, but their help was instrumental in forging the Maelstrom Grand Company in Limsa Lominsa. 

As we left 7,500 gil richer and wiser about the Companies and the Ironworks, Zanthael gave us these parting words which stuck with me so I wanted to write them down in this journal: "Till sea swallows all."