The Dark Lilies (Volume 1.) (10/13/2006)


The chamber in the cathedral to which the young friar led me was not luxurious by any stretch of the imagination, but I found the neat and tidy room quite agreeable. I sat before a roaring fireplace in a chair that squeaked in protest at the slightest movement, and thought back on the events of the previous few hours as I gazed into the dancing flame...

"Lady Gertrude, welcome to the Kingdom of San d'Oria."

An elderly Temple Knight of gentle manner--an agent of my client--greeted me upon my arrival.

"We are most grateful that a noble exorcist of your esteem has consented to travel the many malms across the ocean to answer our plea. After twenty years of tranquility, the legendary witches of the Dark Lilies have returned!"

The elderly knight lowered his gaze before continuing with his tale.

"Surely even a lady of your tender years would have heard the name. The deeds of those six witches shook the very foundations of Vana'diel.

"My order has recorded their infamy. These innately powerful witches mastered even greater magic through the formation of their coven--the Dark Lilies. They revived ancient dark arts, and no corner of the world was left unscathed by their ambition.
However, soon after their success the Great War descended upon Vana'diel and the Dark Lilies vanished without a trace.

"In the twenty years that followed, stories of the Dark Lilies gradually became nothing more than frightening tales used by harried parents to scare children into bed. And now, it seems, those witches have appeared in the three capitals to terrorize the citizenry once more."

"They have returned...as spirits?"

The knight lifted his gaze to meet my own and nodded.

"There are reports by travelers and children who have witnessed ghosts wearing hats with crooked points even along the roads through Ronfaure. No matter how skilled in arms the Temple Knights may be, we have not the means to fight an insubstantial enemy protected by mighty and ancient sorcery.
Lady Gertrude, I beseech you to employ the far western art of exorcism to banish the spirits of these malefic beings."

The logs in the fireplace suddenly collapsed, causing the flames to leap and writhe like tormented beasts.

The wandering souls of witches...
What had caused their disappearance? What had befallen their physical bodies? Why were they haunting the towns?
There had to be an explanation.

I took my cloak from a hook on the wall, and left the cathedral behind.

***

I passed through the majestic Ranperre Gate and found myself outside, where the densely packed trees of Ronfaure seemed poised to march upon the capital. The spirits of the witches had been seen within this very forest.
I knew not if the rumors were widely known, but as I followed the road south through the towering boughs, I passed many a traveler urging his chocobo on to the safety of the city walls.

Daylight faded into dusk, and a solid mist rose to obscure my vision.
When I strayed from the path into the gloom between the trunks, I felt as if the creatures of the forest had begun to stir all at once.

And then bats filled the air around me, rapidly beating their wings with frantic fury. I swung my wand like a club, scattering the tiny vermin in all directions. They soon returned to renew their assault, but did not seem interested in feasting on blood. I couldn't help but feel I was being herded, and when I quickened my pace I suddenly felt the air grow heavy and suffocating.

A sensed an overpowering aura from up ahead.
Following the supernatural beacon, I found her waiting for me beneath the branches of a huge tree.

A witch.

She wore a pointed hat just as I remembered from childhood stories. Her face retained a trace of innocence and we seemed to be of a similar age.
However, her transparent form left me in no doubt as to her true identity.

I began to softly intone the words to a spell of exorcism, and walked boldly towards the apparition, both arms outstretched.

"Witch of the Dark Lilies...!"

My voice echoed through the silence of the night-cloaked forest.
The witch peered at me from under the brim of her hat, her emotionless eyes glowing faintly.

"I am a disciple of Altana, here to save thy soul...
What dost thou seek here?
What brings thee to the land of the living?"

The spirit opened her mouth slightly and whispered. She spoke no tongue that I could understand... It was more akin to a moan, or a chant...

No matter how practiced the exorcist, if I could not hear and understand the words a spirit spoke, I could not send it to Altana's side--especially if that spirit was a powerful witch.

As I stood there debating my course, the witch suddenly charged forward in eerie silence, her eyes opened wide, and a twisted smile playing about her lips...

I braced myself.
The spirit flowed into my body, and I could feel myself losing control.
My arms and legs grew rigid, and cold beads of sweat ran down my neck and spine...

"Begone!"

In the instant of that single shouted word, the force binding my limbs dissipated, and the presence of the witch melted away into the darkness.

Sighing deeply, I raised my face to the sky and saw how the bats that had tormented me were still fluttering about in agitation.

At that point, I was certain that they had been commanded to lead me to her.

Creatures of the night have an understanding.
Which would mean that those bats would comprehend the unfamiliar words spoken by the witch. How, then, was a flesh-and-blood mortal to learn such a language?

"A mortal must become a monster..."

I shook my head even as I uttered those words.
It was forbidden. A devout student of the Goddess would not be permitted to commit such an act.

I walked back to the road, my mind racing with the events of the evening.
By the time I thought to look again, the bats were gone.

* * *


The following day, the streets were filled with crowds of townspeople preparing for the event known as the "Harvest Festival." Children laughed in delight as they helped to put up the decorations.
This grand event was not exclusive to the Kingdom of San d'Oria, but also took place in the nations of Bastok and Windurst.

"Perhaps these witches have been lured into the towns by the bustle of the festivities?"
"Ahaha. Spirits are famous for their tormented solitude, I agree."

I recalled a linkpearl exchange from the night before; two colleagues of mine--Brian and Roger--had been called to the capitals of the other two nations on the exact same errand as I.
After I had reported the events in Ronfaure, Roger, the most senior among us, mentioned having an idea about the witch's mumblings and went out to conduct some research. I wondered if he had discovered a solution to our quandary...

As I passed the sluice gates of Northern San d'Oria, worrying for my fellow exorcists, I noticed a knot of people formed around the passage that led to the port.

As I approached the crowd and peered into the center, I could make out a man in merchant's garb sprawled on the stone-cobbled ground. All the blood had drained from his face, and his lips quivered spasmodically.

"What happened here?" I asked a guard who stood near the scene.

"Just horrible... These witches are appearing in broad daylight now."

Our worst fears had been realized.

"Terrible timing, what with the Harvest Festival just around the corner and all. If an actual fiend should sneak into the parade of costumed merrymakers, why, it would be a disaster."

"Costumed merrymakers?"

"Did you not know? All the townspeople, young and old, dress up as monstrous creatures and join the parade."

"Thank you, sir. You have given me hope. Blessings of Altana be upon you!"

I left the confused soldier and the growing crowd of people behind, and began to devise a plan...

Comments

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lol
# Oct 18 2006 at 11:49 AM Rating: Decent
Yeah, Next will be Galka's Flying around on broomsticks chacing around flying balls.
Harry Potter LMAO^^
Story leading to quests.
# Oct 17 2006 at 4:46 PM Rating: Decent
if anything i would say this story is hinting to the quests that will be presented at the event, with the fact that the 'costumed merrymakers' gave gertrude the idea of how to get the witch... and with SE stating that certain combinations of costumes do special things... the story is simply pointing us in the direction of the quests.

~that is my opinion
.....-.-;;
# Oct 16 2006 at 1:00 PM Rating: Decent
*
213 posts
this is, by far, the most contrived excuse for a change in format i have ever seen....honestly now....although having a story line besides 500 "kupo kupo!"s and "master master!"s is a slight improvement...but really now, if you're going to hint at "revived ancient magic", at least let us USE some of it! even if only during the event.... though from the last few paragraphs of this narative, i'd surmise that this will turn into a Besieged like event in the primary cities... one can only hope so... and please SE...dont do a storyline like this again....and enough w/ the damned moogles...after all these festivals with them saying "kupo kupo!" and "master master!" i have the urge to whip out Blizzard two at the little things every time i see em
event
# Oct 16 2006 at 8:44 AM Rating: Good
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727 posts
I wouldnt count on this including any specific job. Nor would I read this as a new job coming.


Simply put, I think SE is trying to make this years harvest festival a bit more... well... different. Rather than just the standard event that SE tends to run over and over, that gets maybe 2 paragraphs of "Master master! The moogles are hosting this event cause its (hot/cold/Christmas/etc...)", SE is creating an actual story line to explain whats going on.

Personally, I find it kinda refreshing.

As it stands, it seems there are 'spirits' of witches that we must deal with. At least in the ronf region, finding these spirits might involve hunting down some special bat mobs and following them to the spirit. In order to converse with the spirits, players will have to become a monster... Not be the BLU job, as that would exclude the event from players without the expansion, and SE has always been against that. So... prob some wacky quest that will make the moogles (or tarutaru exorcists) turn players into real monsters for the night...


Or... maybe something else entirely. But this is just background story for the new event that is going to be released.
harvest
# Oct 16 2006 at 7:20 AM Rating: Default
this is obviously gunna include blue mage job. as it says, "to talk to them you must become a beast" or something like thath. so i think its either a harvest thing to include the new jobs or its is something else to do with the new jobs.
the picture
# Oct 16 2006 at 6:08 AM Rating: Decent
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569 posts
Galka is too big to fit in the picture.
The Taru is barely able tall enough to be seen.

Spirits of witches? This would make a cool story line expansion to the game. Any thoughts on that?
omg
# Oct 16 2006 at 5:42 AM Rating: Decent
will those thing realy apeare in Ronfaure ???
could be cool seriously
RACISM!!
# Oct 15 2006 at 11:01 PM Rating: Decent
Why is the Galkan Cut out of the Photo??
Racism i say, Racism!!!
Dreams...
# Oct 15 2006 at 6:58 PM Rating: Decent
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199 posts
New job! Witches! Female only!
And then they could have a cool male only job.
With a whole bunch of dark magic and stuff.

Oh wait, I'm just dreaming huh?
dedede
# Oct 15 2006 at 3:55 PM Rating: Default
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271 posts
1st mana burn party?
Where's my motha furkin' candy hoes!?
k
# Oct 15 2006 at 3:52 PM Rating: Decent
Gave Up The D
Avatar
*****
12,281 posts
BLM AF Hats for everyone!
____________________________
Shaowstrike (Retired - FFXI)
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Cooking/Fishing 100


"We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary."
— James D. Nicoll
yay!!
# Oct 15 2006 at 3:51 PM Rating: Decent
**
576 posts
How about it's time for another event? As others have stated, the Harvest Festival is right around the corner.

And this is actually pretty cool. I like the story. It's giving me ideas for my coming RP's.
?
# Oct 15 2006 at 1:27 PM Rating: Decent
... Gilsellers..uhhh...remain?
?
# Oct 16 2006 at 5:33 AM Rating: Good
Not quite. The name of the dead merchant was "Johngg".
?
# Oct 15 2006 at 3:52 PM Rating: Decent
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576 posts
yes, they remain. Deal with it.
how about this
# Oct 15 2006 at 1:22 PM Rating: Default
How about this is for the Harvest Festival,,,DUH.
ummm...
# Oct 15 2006 at 1:01 PM Rating: Decent
**
799 posts
so, this is.... from "Altana Potter and the Order of the Steam Lizard"?
ok
# Oct 15 2006 at 12:37 PM Rating: Decent
This is pretty cool, if you're like 10.
ok...
# Oct 15 2006 at 12:06 PM Rating: Default
29 posts
ummm ....boo witches?
#REDACTED, Posted: Oct 15 2006 at 11:30 AM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) Uhhhhh sexy?
?
# Oct 15 2006 at 11:27 AM Rating: Default
... Gilsellers..uhhh...remain?
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