This is my first blogger and, honestly, it doesn't inspire confidence in me. I wrote five or six paragraphs about why I'd come here to post this, about how the Dawn linkshell EZBoards were finally gone, how Ridir was my favorite linkshell ever, etc. Then I try to post an image, delete the image (it was too big), and select all the text but then, as I was highlighting, inexplicably, the whole thing deleted itself and then a draft got saved.
So, suffice it to say that the last time I saved my Dawn profile was 11/16/2007. That's all right, because I really haven't updated much over the last year, although I will have to re-add a bunch of recent categories I'm sure I added back in August or so.
Some stuff about Mithra: The Motherland is Gha Naboh Matriarchate, which takes up the entire continent of Olzhirya and the surrounding islands. Its capital is the city of Yhoh.
I know the formatting is different for Blogger than EZBoard, but right now, I'd like to get the whole thing out and then reformat it at a later date. Here goes:
Note to self: I really should get around to writing stories about Althaia's life...ah well.
I was going to go into a whole synopsis of her life story here, but it'd really take more time than I have at the moment. Over time, however, I've come up with some rather detailed cliffnotes:
[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v712/Astragem14/CharGallery/AnimeNeko.jpg[/image]
Adventuring Name: Althaia
Mithran Name/Birth Name: Alth Aaiaa
Pirate Name: Salty Alty
Far Eastern Name: Shimako Akiko
~~Shimako = child of the island, Akiko = bright light/bright child/autumn child
Near Eastern Name: al-Mu'allima A'isha Amat-al-Altana al-‘Aliyya
~~Mistress Althaia, Servant of Altana, the High/Lofty/Sublime
Mysterious Birth on a Windsday (age 0, obviously)
Father (Anadyr) rebukes Mithran society and becomes a pirate after a lengthy stay as their prisoner (age 1)
Alth is stolen away by her mother (Nemorayne) on a ship to the mainland; they settle in Mhaura (age 2)
Alth Aaiaa befriends the children of Mhaura, including "Rage" Malachi the Elvaan and Puther the Hume, spending time playing with them on the beaches of Mhaura whenever her mother trains, which is to say often (age 3 to 7)
Alth defends Rage against bullies who taunt him for wanting to become a mage (age 7 and 2 months)
Neemo meets a band of Mithra who are going to join a recently-established Mithran settlement on the plains of Sarutabaruta. Neemo decides to leave Mhaura, hoping spending time with other Mithra her own age will do Alth good (age 7 and 3 months)
Alth is raised in the Mithran settlement; a Ranger in the community makes it her personal mission to make sure these two new arrivals never go without the basic amenities of life (ages 7 to 9)
Alth is looked down upon by mostly everyone due to her mother's preference in personal combat training (Warrior/Monk) in preparation for becoming a Samurai rather than help the community (ages 7 to 9)
During one particularly rigorous training session, Nemorayne injures herself; Alth, curious and worried, approaches her mother as she attempts to bandage the wound as a stop-gag measure. A bright pastel pink glow surrounds Alth's hands and, placing her hands on the wound, she heals the injury using this power. Nemorayne seems saddened and anxious rather than grateful and happy to see her daughter is so special (age 7 and 11 months)
Mother disappears one day by the river, presumably abandoning her daughter to pursue Samurai training in the Far East (age 7 and 11 months)
Rather than feel sympathetic for the newly-orphaned Alth, members of the community, in their jealousy perhaps, shun Alth as a constant reminder of her irresponsible mother; the exception to this is the aforementioned Ranger, who does her best to comfort Alth in her time of grief (ages 7 to 10)
Alth has enough of all the dirty looks and unkind words, turning to a life of a trickster to satiate her need for retribution against those who would seek to make her feel bad and unworthy. She has a particular fondness for moving other people's belongings around without being caught, but always feels guilty about it if the item remains "lost" for too long, always making sure that the person gets her/his belongings back and taking nothing for herself (ages 7 to 10)
Failed attempt to re-steal stolen gil from Kay Naati, Mithran Bard/Thief, who has taken it from members of the community during her faux-bards' troupe's performance (age 10)
Alth is convinced by Kaynati by promises of adventure to leave her old life of persecution behind become a member of Kay's gang (age 10)
Alth passes all the necessary tests, including stealing a ribbon from a gang member right under her nose (age 10)
Alth moves through the crowds enthralled by the faux-bards' company, picking pockets as she goes and handing the proceeds over to Kay (ages 10 to 15)
Kaynati, whom Alth has come to see as her new mother, stops sweet-talking the young Alth Aaia and shows her true colors in the form of beating the girl and mentally/emotionally manipulating her, attempting to destroy her self-confidence (age 11)
Althaia meets Avertan (who was then 12), another troubled child apprenticed to a scum-worthy individual (in his case, an assassin he believes to be his father), unaware at the time that Avertan is in fact part demon (age 11)
Escalating tension between Telemain Brody, an old friend of Kay Naati's parents, and Kay Naati ends with the scholar-turned-monk Brody, Alth's teacher and mentor, leaving the gang after countless years of friendship with and support of Kay Naati (age 12)
Alth suffers as Kay Naati becomes even more abusive, both physically and emotionally, of Alth (age 12)
Althaia receives a smooth stone from Avertan, a gift happily accepted from her only friend, as a token of his affection for her (age 12)
Avertan's father and Kay Naati stop walking in the same circles so Avertan and his father disappear in the middle of the night without a chance to say goodbye (age 13)
Alth plays an unwitting, but key, part in the slaughter of the entire Mithran gang, who she has come to see as her only family. She witnessed the whole thing, impotently unable to do anything to stop herself from losing her "mother" again, mere days before her birthday (age 15)
Alth is dropped off in Windurst by the Dark Knight lover of Kaynati who then abandons her. Alth wanders around Windurst for a time, generally causing a ruckus with her brazen attitude and thefts (age 15)
Alth befriends Ellsie during this fragile time, her first real friend in years, and learns that "polite" does NOT mean insulting someone to his/her face instead of behind his/her back (age 16)
Because of her guilt over not being able to do anything during the recent slaughter of her "family" (don't you hate it when that happens?) and her natural affinity for Healing and Divine magics, Althaia takes on the vestments of a White Mage (age 16)
Surprisingly fast, Alth forms a bond of Mithran sisterhood with Snowfall, whom she comes to see as an older sister of sorts. After a few weeks or so, however, Snowfall suddenly disappears, last seen hunting on Qufim Island (age 16)
After a few incidents where she has no idea how she got somewhere or what she'd been doing for hours on end, Althaia finds that she is haunted by the voices of the dead Mithran gang. Alth's behavior becomes increasingly erratic as a result; at times, she even takes on the persona of Kay Naati. Is this merely insanity, some odd form of post-traumatic stress, or something more? (ages 15 to 17)
Given a linkpearl by Gerai, Althaia joins a linkshell Ellsie is active in, called Ridir, further refining her "people skills" and meeting new friends (age 16)
The teen Mithra finds herself exploring the realm of romantic relationships with 16-year-old amnesiac Vegetan. The two of them have a fun time of it, red roses and pretty fireworks, before he disappears for a while (age 16)
Althaia is offered a spot aboard Kirrund's pirate ship and, not having much of an idea of what to do with her life, considers it -- that is, until it's revealed that Kirrund doesn't want Ellsie, at which point Althaia flatly turns Kirrund down (age 16)
Though too inexperienced to travel the great distance from Windurst to San d'Oria safely, Althaia uses her Ridir connections to found a highly successful, though short-lived, Doublet business with San d'Orian Hyuri, who is in fact a merchant's daughter herself (age 16)
Ellsie decides she's had enough of the adventuring life and becomes a fisherman, leaving oft-abandoned Althaia with little more than a letter (age 16)
Saddened and distraught by the sudden loss of Ellsie's constant company, and driven to escape everything and nothing in the madness induced by voices in her guilt-ridden head, Althaia accepts Kirrund's proposal to join his pirate crew, not exactly a huge leap in the right direction for the former Mithran gang member (age 16)
Aided on separate occasions by Kirrund and Dekker, the voices in Althaia's head are somewhat reigned in for a time (age 16)
Althaia proves her worth to Kirrund for being a pirate by slaying the notorious crawler Spiny Spipi and retrieving the Mist Silk Cape (age 16)
Captian Kirrund leaves for a while to conduct business in the Far East, coming across a woman fitting Althaia's description of her mother but who apparently has no knowledge of a daughter named Alth Aaiaa (age 16)
In a lengthy conversation with Dekker, Althaia lets go of soul-poisoning long-held prejudices against beastmen and hatred of cardians (age 16)
Althaia rediscovers Avertan on a hunting trip, with whom she talks for hours before realizing who he is. The pair are happily reunited, but both have changed greatly since they last saw each other. Althaia finally returns the affection Avertan has felt for her for years. With her support, Avertan overcomes the demon aching to get out (age 16)
Vegetan reappears suddenly as Althaia and Avertan are getting serious. While riding the ferry from Mhaura to Selbina, Althaia breaks the news to Vegetan that she can't continue as his girlfriend. He takes it surprisingly well, and the two part (age 16)
Just when it seems things can't get any better, doubts presented by her trusted friend Gerai begin to gnaw at Althaia over whether Avertan has truly reformed or not, given the new information that Avertan, as a baby, might've literally driven Gerai's friend, Avertan's "father" (the man who discovered him), to become a harsh and corrupt man (age 16)
Further doubts ache at the back of her mind as she realizes for the first time -- as perhaps before she willfully ignored -- Avertan's recalcitrant nature. A stark contrast to Vegetan's ostentatious lovey-dovey demeanor, Avertan's attitude unsettles Althaia for a time as she pokes and prods the teen to open up to love (age 16)
Deciding instead to trust her love of Avertan for better or for ill, Alth watches the Star Celebration display with Avertan -- the teens attempt to enjoy their first major holiday where they don't have use people's lowered guards against them to either assassinate someone or steal from someone (age 16)
Althaia and Avertan are wed in a small, informal ceremony, pledging to have a bigger, fancier wedding when they can afford it (age 16)
Given a linkpearl by Ayre, Althaia joins Dawn, which includes long-time friends such as Dekker, Velfire, Lyle, and Hyuri (age 17)
Althaia sets off on a journey to the Far East to find her mother, serving as a pirate in Captian Kirrund's crew -- she is their principle healer and also assists in the cooking and cleaning, while Avertan fights and does odd jobs around the ship (age 17)
Upon confronting her mother Neemo Raynne (Aaiaa is the last name of her grandmother, Eccles Aaiaa), her mother reveals the whole truth about the past. Far too long to put in this "brief" summary, suffice it to say that Neemo turned to the Sahagin when she was unable to get pregnant by Anaad Dyryr (Anadyr) rather than lose him as her mate. In return, she agreed to give up her child three years after its birth. Rather than own up to this part of the deal, she fled with Althaia when she was just two years old. When Alth was six, a River Sahagin approached Neemo for her betrayal. Neemo killed him. Months later, the Sahagin take their revenge but miraculously Neemo manages to survive; respecting her for this, they decide to spare Alth her destiny -- as long as mother and daughter never meet again. Which would explain why she claimed to have no daughter when approached by Kirrund initially (age 17)
Aided by her mother and Far Eastern spiritual rituals, the voices in her head are finally silenced for good -- or are they? (age 17)
Initially, Alth plans on staying in the Far East with Avertan, but Neemo's past connections with Ninjas catch up with her in the middle of the night. At Avertan's urging, Alth flees for the ship as Neemo fights off multiple enemies, vowing that he would be right behind her. Avertan does indeed reunite with Alth on the ship just in time, which leaves port before any trouble can catch up with them, but something seems different about him...darker, even. He refuses to let her heal his wounds (age 17)
On the way back to Windurst, the ship is attacked by vicious Sahagin who take Althaia as their prisoner. Avertan disappears in the battle, as well. She is soon "awakened" by a Sahagin shaman to her "true" form as the Sahagin's personal reincarnation of Altana (age 17)
Increasingly frequent sightings of a mystical, alluring, nude Mithra in the waterfall of the Hidden Valley directly preceeding Sahagin attacks on any who threaten Sahagin border lead Mithran investigators to capture Althaia and "disenchant" her. She is offered Kazham citizenship but, though saddened to do so, she turns it down (age 17)
Althaia learns the exact circumstances of her birth from Panaa, an old friend of her mother's. In spite of the mystical undertones of her birth, and despite the obvious indications that she is no normal Mithra (innate healing ability & ability to hear the voices of the dead), Althaia chooses to turn her back on her so-called "destiny" and resume her life as a Windurstian adventurer (age 17 and 5 months)
Unable to locate Capt. Kirrund and his crew, Althaia rejoins Dawn after it reforms, given a new linkpearl by Velfire (age 17 and 5 months)
Dawn has many members that Althaia hasn't met yet, and so many introductions are in order. Trouble is, Althaia finds she doesn't know how to handle adventurers anymore, even though she's on herself. After spending a time as an ally of the Sahagin (albeit ultimately against her will), she is deeply troubled by conversations of stupid beastmen, brutalizing beastmen, and otherwise demeaning or killing them, particularly the Sahagin. Years of mistrust bred into her by her fellow Mithran gang members enhance Althaia's paranoia and distrust regarding all but her friends, among them Dekker, Hyuri, and Velfire. Althaia struggles with her own naturally distrustful nature and the intense desire to befriend those in Dawn (age 17 and 6 months)
Achieves her first High Quality result as a crafter, a carpenter to be exact, using an Earth Crystal on Earthsday to create 66 stone arrows instead of 33 (age 17 and 6 months)
Despite the uncertainity of Avertan's fate, Alth is unable to deny her feelings for Maximeo and enters into a romantic relationship with the ailing black mage, who swears to give up black magic for her sake (age 17 and 6 months)
At first, things are going well for Maximeo and Althaia, but then a public arguement ensues between Kalei, Maximeo, Althaia, Shykin, Hyuri, and others over love, black magic, and the existence of evil. Having seen evil first hand, Althaia feels publically humiliated by the whole affair, particularly the part where Kalei lectures Althaia on love. Distraught and confused by the whole thing, Althaia tells Maximeo she's given up on love. After he calms her down somewhat, and tells her how much he loves her in all the sweetest detail, they decide that staying would be better than leaving. After giving it some more thought, Althaia discovers she's not over Avertan yet. Though she knows he'll likely never return, she still clings to the hope of finding him again and living happily ever after with him, sunset and all (age 17 and 7 months)
As she becomes more comfortable in her own skin, and in Dawn, Althaia begins to live less in the past and more for the future -- which could very well include Maximeo. Meanwhile, she begins to hear unsettling rumors of travellers being pulled into swirling vortices in Valkurm and Qufim (age 17 and 7 months)
Unsettling rumors become reality as Maximeo is pulled into an unstable greenish-black vortex in the Valkurm Dunes. The young couple-turned-friends were enjoying a day on the beaches of Valkurm in their new swimwear when Maximeo was sucked to his doom -- or not, we don't really know at this point (age 17 and 7/8 months)
Oh happy day! Kalei, Maximeo's dear friend, managed to track down Maximeo and bring him home safely. Apparently, he'd been living in Tavnazia and had Althy and the rest of Dawn worried for nothing. After this happy reunion, Althy is able to finalize her preparations for sailing off into the blue in search of Captain Kirrund, her missing crew, and Avertan (age 17 and 8 months)
Oddly enough, Gilgamesh of Norg recruited by his friendly fellow Dekker, was able to find Cap'n Kirrund and company with his vast nautical resources. Go figure, eh? Unfortunately, the loosely-affiliated Norg pirate Kirrund hasn't seen hide nor hair of Avertan since that fateful sea battle in which Althy was knocked overboard and kidnapped by Sahagin. Disturbed by this news, Althy manages to convince her Captain and crew to use the ship and resources she's assembled to sail out and find Avertan -- and there's no way Althy's missing out on THIS journey... but wait, isn't she and Maxi an item? Althy chooses Avertan, her husband, but not out of any loyalty to the institution of marriage -- no, her decision comes from love. After putting her affairs in order and bidding adeiu to Maximeo among the bioluminescent flowers at the Rhinostery in Windurst, Althy casts a teleportation spell to bring herself to Elshimo Island and sets off with Cap'n Kirrund and crew, determined to find Avertan (age 17 and 9 months)
Dawn, as a linkshell, begins to show its age, as its members begin to gravitate towards other interests. Whenever Althy puts into port in Norg and anxiously waits to be able to sail out again, she finds hardly any Dawn members listening to their linkpearls anymore. Over the next few months, as she spends most of her time out at sea, Dawn crumbles into nothingness (age 17 and 9-11 months)
Althy finds Avertan on a small Far Eastern island terrorized by a demon in their woods. Very few have seen this demon and lived, but most describe the demon as a man with glowing red eyes and super-hume strength. Concerned about the similiarity of the tales to Avertan when he's in an emotional state, Althaia ventures into the forest, coming face to face with her husband. After almost killing her two escorts, Avertan recognizes the Mithra and comes to his senses. A happy reunion, right? That's what Althy would like to believe. Althy discovers Avertan washed up on this island and encountered a demon who saw potential in Avertan's ancestry. Luckily(?), long story short, Avertan barely managed to kill the demon-ruler-of-the-island and afterwards couldn't control his own demonic side (age 17 and 11 months)
On their voyage from the Far East to Norg, Althy begins to notice little things about Avertan that she was too overjoyed to pay attention to before. He's more possessive than he used to be, shows less emotion, and, though concerned for her well-being, doesn't go out of his way to show his affection for her. At first Alth Aaiaa tries to tell herself that it's not important, that he still loves her, and that this marriage can still work -- the lack of affection on his part, however, is slowly killing her inside, as she finds herself constantly comparing this Avertan to the Avertan with which she fell in love and married almost two years ago. As her birthday approaches, she sits down to write a letter to a friend [cue: "Goodbye to Love" story in the stories section] (17 years 11.5 months)
By the time her birthday arrives, Cap'n Kirrund and crew have dropped Avertan off on a small Near Eastern island unusually fraught with demons. It is his wish that he put his life to good use in ridding the world of demons. Previously, he had talked extensively of doing this with Althy by his side, but now it is shown that the two lovers will sadly part ways. And so, usuring in a new year in her life, on her 18th birthday, she renews her vow to let go of the pain of the past and begin anew (18 years - 12/20/05 Earth Time)
Spending most of her time paying back Cap'n Kirrund for finding Avertan (and of course, conveniently avoiding her friends who would question whether she was successful in finding her husband), Althy spends more time at sea as a pirate, mostly raiding less-fortunate ships and trafficking black market contraband; pillaging local villages, though a favored pirate past-time, isn't a big priority on Cap'n Kirrund's list, and for this: "Arr, cap'n, I be most grateful to ye!" Hehe (18 years 1 month)
Althy recieves a message about a party and what Mithra can resist a party? Of course, Althy then finds out that it's less of a Dawn reunion and more of a Hyuri's retirement party; once again, one of Althy's closest friends is retiring from the adventuring business, this time to do research at the Rhinostery. Sad as that is, Althy tries to keep the spirit of the party alive, in her own way -- which involves excusing herself from it when it becomes too much for her. She and Dekker share a brief moment on the second floor of the inn in South San d'Oria, looking out over the fountain and speaking quietly of things which weigh heavily on her mind, namely: her former time as Altana-incarnate to the Sahagin and the separation from Avertan. They are interrupted by Shykin, who also wanted to take a breather from the party. Who knew it was going to be such a drag? It wasn't, at first: Maximeo, Shykin, Jybill, Hyuri, and Althy were all laughing and having a good time at first, but due to personal issues, the tone of the party quickly descended into quiet contemplation, something Hyuri wasn't all that happy about. Things got a little more cheery when Dekker and Dralid happened to stop by, but they couldn't stay for long. Dralid and Althy had never gotten along very well, but it was very important to her that she at least pretend everything's fine in her life, since she's competitive with Dralid. Overall, she manages to keep up a brave face in spite of her loss--and ~mostly~ avoids the topic of Avertan. She bids a fond farewell, and traditional Mithran goodbye, to Hyuri, almost has a heart-to-heart with Maximeo, and hopes that she and Dekker will one day get to resume their conversation (18 years 2 months)
Althaia wanders, nothing too interesting happens, as she searches for a purpose. Robbed of both the love of her life, Avertan, and her blind prejudice against Beastmen, she wonders what in life is worth devoting herself to. Various forces tore apart Ridir and Dawn, her stint with NightMasks wasn't particularly productive, and her latest effort to join a LinkShell, TheCrystalWars, seems dreary and dismal. It's enough to make a Mithra wonder if she made the wrong decision last year when she turned down that offer of citizenship from Kazham's Mithras after they saved her from the Sahagin. Ah yes, the Sahagin tribe who claimed her sole purpose of birth was to become their Altana-incarnate... could they have been right? Could the Mithras who saved her inevitably have robbed her of her destiny? (18 years 3 months)
Eggstravangazia! Eggs for all! Althy takes her mind off depressing things by collecting eggs, finding the right combinations, getting dazzling new furniture items, and re-selling eggs at jacked up prices. Hey, it's better than pickpocketing, right? So it's a step in the right direction for Althy! ...okay, maybe not, but her moral compass has always been a little ..."skewed" since her years with that gang of Mithran thieves (18 years 4 months)
In the months that followed the dissolution of Dawn, Althy had slowly begun to lose touch with her friends and, thus, was in a rather solitary place, social life-wise, when the routes to the Near East (Aht Urghan) were uncovered. Having heard awful things about the "evil empire's" campaign against the Corsairs of the region, Althy wasn't exactly predisposed to caring one way or the other if the empire was engulfed by vicious, powerful beastmen. So, while many of her fellow adventurers sailed out of Mhaura for uncharted lands, Alth decided to stick around and see what she could do in the part of Vana'diel she'd come to accept as, love it or hate it, home. The answer soon came in the form of the "Feast of Swords" (18 years, 5 months)
Cut, Slash, Slice, and Dice! Maybe this isn't what the Feast of Swords is supposed to be about, but it's all Alth Aaiaa cares about. Battling magic, cursed armors with a katana so easy to use, anybody could do it was just about the highlight of the feast for her, seeing as there was very little actual food to go around. Some feast, pfft! Perhaps the moogles meant "feast of blood" or "feast of carnage," because there certainly wasn't any "feast of tasty, delicious, delectable treats!" (18 years, 5 months)
Maximeo returns from the Near East a changed man. He seems harsher now, more careless, both with his own life and others'. Althy at first scorns Maxim's rude new 'tude with one of her own, a set of emotional defenses built up over the years, but, after a heartfelt apology from Maxim (and his admittance that he doesn't know what's happening to himself), Althy softens up and tries to help Maxim. Meanwhile, Alth Aaiaa exchanges letters with old friend Dekker, who is in the Near East conducting his own affairs, about her concern about Maxim's behavior. Dekker replies that he thinks he knows why Maxim's acting strangely, namely that Maximeo has taken on the path of the Blue Mage, a savage new discipline used by honored warriors of the empire in defense of the empire. This was something Maxim had told her earlier and Althy, did, in fact, suspect it as the cause of Maxim's strange behavior, but she didn't want to admit it to herself. She cares for Maxim and the last man she really, really cared about ended up giving in to his darkside and parting ways with her to go on some great quest to rid Vana'diel of the taint of Demons or some such. Nevertheless, as a reason for Althy's rudeness toward's Maxim's strange attitude, Althy wasn't eager to repeat the process by caring for someone else going down a beastly path... (18 years, 5 months)
Maxim seems to have developed greater control, whereas Alth's is slipping. Immediately following Dekker's last letter, Althy begins having dreams of a distant desert plagued by windstorms. Althy journeys to Valkurm, hoping to find answers, but instead finds Maximeo. The pair reflect for a moment on the happy times they had together in their new summer outfits last summer, playing in the waves and louging in the cool desert cave. The serenity doesn't last for long, however, as an uneasy feeling washes over Althy. To quell this desire, she must find the place in her dreams and discover the truth behind them. After discussing the problem with Maxim, they agree to travel to Altepa Desert. The two of them rest in Rabao, where Maxim tries to get Alth to stop avoiding the task at hand and focus on coming to terms with her dreams; which Althy of course resists, hiding behind her playful nature. So much has happened, so many awful things, and just when she thought she was beginning to deal with them, these dreams of the windswept desert haunt her. Maxim suggests that they may have something to do with Garuda, the avatar of Wind, which shocks Althy as she remembers a story her mother told her when she visited her in the Far East. Althy relates to Maxim the tale of the day Althy was born, in which, on Windsday, fierce winds billowed and howled all day as if the avatar of Wind Herself didn't want Althy to be born. Maxim, a practical Hume, takes such superstition with a grain of salt, but Althy isn't so sure, which only makes her more fearful of her dreams. Nevertheless, with Maximeo's support, she is determined to face this windswept desert head-on. The two of them rent chocobos and ride into the desert as a massive sandstorm suddenly kicks up, reducing visibility. Alth sees a huge tornado though, off in the distance, and a strange feeling overwhelms her. She feels inexplicably drawn to it, as if in a trance, and urges her chocobo to race forward. Maximeo yells after her for her to stop and, in his worry, warns her that he'll do whatever has to in order to get her to stop, even if that means using force. Luckily, it doesn't come to that, as the chocobo, perhaps wiser than the rider, refuses to get too close to the ominous sand-tornado. Maximeo manages to break Althy's trance and, with one last forlorn gaze at the tornado, the two of them agree to head back to the safety of Rabao. This is where Maximeo, now convinced of the importance of this, introduces Althy to a Mithra-Tarutaru pair named Rahi Fohlatti and Agado-Pugado, who, after a short discussion with her, agree to give her a mini tuning fork of wind. Althy immediately feels more at ease upon recieving and her nights are more peaceful, as if a subconscious part of her knows events have been put in motion that will resolve this difficulty with the mighty and beautiful avatar that rules over the element of her birth, Wind (18 years, 5 months, mid-month)
Maximeo sends Althy a missive asking her to meet him on the docks behind the Rhinostery in Windurst Waters, the same place where, earlier, Althy had bid farewell to him before setting out on and had seen him again for the first time following her Far East trip. Maxim announces that he has a present to give to Althy. He gives Alth a necklace, shaped by magic, with a brilliant, green, heart shaped gem. Due to innumerable tiny cuts in the wind crystal's surface, the gem radiates the full spectrum of light when held up to the sun. Though she loves the gift, she secretly worries about what this might say about Maximeo's desires towards her. After all, a heart-shaped gift can only mean one thing, right? The gift, and Maxim's path down that of the Blue Mage, makes Althy re-examine her own desires for Maxim, though she is weary. Avertan lost his battle against the darkness within him and Althy won't accept the possibility of losing Maximeo as well. Can they be just friends, given their romantic past, or does a better future lie in the two of them becoming something more? (18 years, 5 months, mid-month)
After nearly a year of stalls and half-starts, Alth is able to put her past behind her and begin in love anew with Maximeo. After an all-nighter of a heart-to-heart talk, Alth feels safe enough to start a relationship with Maximeo, a very nice Black Mage, dontchaknow. Of course, now he's more of a Blue Mage, but nevermind that, this isn't the Maximeo Story, it's the Althaia story! Ahem, anyway, Alth tells Maxim that she woke up feeling like everything was going to be okay. Maximeo asks "is it going to all be okay" and Alth replies with a grin "I don't know, let me check..." The two kiss and Maxim makes a vow to Althy that everything will turn out all right. As for the kiss? "It ain't bad!" That morning, after inspecting some eggs gone bad, Alth lets Maxim make breakfast. At first she's disgusted with his notion of the woman going shopping for the food, asking him if that's how things were with Hume women, to which Maxim replies with an offer: "How about you shop, and I'll cook. Does that seem fair?" It's fair! (18 years and 5 months, late in the month)
After two months of a happy relationship, Alth both dreads and delights in the fact that the Sunbreeze Festival approaches. Over the years, so many memories have been formed during the summerfest and, this year at least, perhaps she'd like to spend it in a land far away, with her new love, exploring a mysterious new land that she may not have given enough of a chance to, originally: the Near East (18 years and 7 months)
Tragedy comes swiftly and quietly during the night as the happy couple travels to the Near East by ship. Althy awakens to find Maxim lying by her side, his skin cold to the touch and his lips blue. Despite doing everything she can as a white mage and a fellow passenger, a doctor, doing everything he can, the teenage Maximeo is dead. Whilst looking for a source of possible poisoning, the doctor pulls out of one of Maxim's pockets a diamond ring. Strangely enough, it's exactly like the diamond ring she had just seen in a dream, a dream in which Maxim proposes to her in the beautiful garden of the late Queen of San d'Oria. Upon seeing it, Althy finally loses her calm and, snatching the ring from the doctor, breaks down into sobs. When they arrive in Aht Urghan Whitegate, Althy does the only thing she can: purchase a wooden casket for Maximeo (18 years and 7 months, very late in the month, per an incomplete story I've written and designed with Maximeo's player)
On the boatride home, she sits down with her stationary kit and writes letters to everyone living she can think of who might've known Maximeo, even in passing or through their mutual connection of the LinkShell called Dawn (18 years and 7 months, very late in the month. See: http://p101.ezboard.com/fdawn56079frm11.showMessage?topicID=125.topic )
Upon arriving in Mhaura, Althy sees to it that her letters are sent through the usual channels that one might use to send letters to one's friends. She hopes it will reach them in time for the funeral in San d'Oria, which she hopes to conduct as soon as possible. She feels that the sooner she can bury Maxim, the sooner the pain in her heart will cease (18 years and 8 months, very early in the month)
In San d'Oria, Althy's attempts to talk to the "right people about this sort of thing" are stonewalled by the fact that she's a foreigner. She tries to explain to them that Maximeo isn't a foreigner, and in fact served this country as one of its adventurer heroes of great renown and, earlier, as a royal knight. She visits the church of Altana for guidance, but recieves none save for a vague feeling that it will all be taken care of by someone close to her. Her first thought: Dekker, whom she hadn't seen or heard from for months now, last known to be in the Near East. It makes sense, considering how close Dekker and Maximeo were, and the fact that both men were San d'Orians. Breathing a little easier, Alth returns to her rent-a-room to find a letter in her delivery box. (18 years and 8 months, early in the month)
RAGE ALERT (lol, for internal use only): The letter is from Rage Malachi, an Elvaan adventurer of great renown whose allegiance is pledged to San d'Orian and whom Althaia knew briefly during her time in Dawn. He is also a childhood friend from her time in Mhaura, of which she needed to be reminded shortly after they first met through Dawn. She was shocked to find, at that time, that this Rage was the same Rage she vaguely recalled from Mhaura, but perhaps she shouldn't have been so surprised. After all, how common of a name, nickname really, is "Rage?" Rage offers to help arrange the funeral, at which point Althy realizes Altana meant Rage, not Dekker. (18 years and 8 months, early in the month)
Still, she hopes to hear from Dekker and Ferra soon, having sent out a letter to each of the couple, hoping one of them would tell the other if a letter somehow got lost in the mail. She also still hasn't heard from Hyuri, who retired from adventuring earlier in the year to do research in the Rhinostery. Meanwhile, other letters arrive from those in Dawn offering their deepest condolences but making no solid commitment to the funeral itself, as adventuring can take a body to various parts of the world with no sure means of being anywhere at a certain time. It was a similiar story when Mortimer and, later, Kalei died. It's unfortunate how so many have died and more have gone missing, out of those adventurers Althaia once called friend or even just acquaintence, but such is the life of an adventurer, the most dangerous of professions (18 years and 8 months, early in the month)
Upon the advice of Jesimae, the distressed Althaia decides to visit her long-time friend and former business partner Hyuri at the Rhinostery in Windurst. There's still time before the funeral (18 years and 8 months, early in the month)
[Placeholder for 8 months, late in the month Garuda Mini-Battle (a.k.a. RPed Faceoff with the mistress of her birth element! after RPed dreams of Garuda, her own birth clothed in winds, and air elementals). new record: 6 min, 38 sec.]
For some time now, Alth's friends, such as those in Ridir/Dawn/Dusk/etc.linkshells have drifted apart and, one by one, disappeared. What small handful of friends remain are scattered across the globe, with whom Alth only communicates through letters to. Alth's heart aches for the warmth of love and friendship she once had with those like Ellsie, Hyuri, Dekker, Maximeo, and the rest. Haunted by her past love life, she had begun to wonder if she was worthy of love at all but, over the months, she has come to accept her life as an adventurer of Windurst. She spends her time accepting dangerous tasks from Windurst and spends much of her downtime staring into the pool of water in resplendent Heavens Tower. She has transformed herself from a troubled teen into a capable young woman. One day, lost in thought and looking quite sad as she recalled all that she had lost, she was beset upon by a knight of Windurst calling himself Braxus Lionheart, who was exiting the secretary's office, apparently on some important mission. It turns out that Braxus had heard of the great adventurer Alth Aaia, which made her more than a little nervous; she tried to remain modest and denied that she was sad, when he asked. He walked away, then shook his head and came back to the somber Alth. In his knightly virtue, he could not let a sad lady remain sad. Althy rebuked him, claiming she didn't need his help. After a pause, she nervously added that she wouldn't mind his company, when he wasn't so busy. Although she kept it to herself, she thought this young knight was quite cute in appearance and manner. She'd very much like to meet him again. (19 years, 1 months, early in the month)
Although weighed down by her responsibilities as a Corsair fighting against the Aht Urghan Empire, fond memories of her times back west convince Althy to answer the call made by the moogles of Windurst. They have decided to re-create an aspect of the Crystal War of more than 20 years ago and pit the three great nations against each other. Alth Aaiaa fights fierce Yagudo and claims 40 crystal shards in the name of Windurst. (19 years, 11 months, mid-month)
------
Sorry that it's boring at times; I'm sure I can make it more interesting in stories. Althaia's birthday is in early December, so 19 years, 11 months, mid-month equates to mid-November 2007. That's the last time I saved my profile before EZBoard wiped it out. Oh well. As you can see, the most important parts of my story are still intact.
------
Family tree:
Mother's side: Eccles Aaiaa bears Neemo Raynne by a fine male specimen she has chosen herself named Sarisaar Nnatsh. Fourteen years later, after she thinks Neemo has drowned (but in fact is being raised by the Sahagin), Ecclesaia becomes pregnant by her unapproved lover, Teemo Kagwitharn -- the two of them leave close-minded Kazham for the mainland in hopes of starting a new life, unaware that the Great War is about to heat up. Kay Naati, as the child is called, is born on the mainland, on a trade route enroute to San d'Oria. Ecclesaia has a history of insanity, a condition excaberated by the loss of her first daughter, and apparently passed it down to Kaynati -- and perhaps Althaia?
*Note: Nemorayne's Far Eastern Name is: Shimako (child of the island) Ran (water lily) = Shimako Ran.
Father's side: Pihreih Oyvaekkom bears Anaad Dyryr by the mate chosen for her by Mithran society named Beeoymbi Deteetl. Despite the praise heaped upon her for bearing a male child, Pihreih, displeased by the results, demands another mate and the right to bear a daughter of her own. Anaad Dyryr is raised by the other males (in the roped off section of Kazham) who, despite their best efforts, can't convince Anadyr that Mithran society is good and right the way it is.
*Note: Anadyr's Pirate Name is: Unknown! Hah! Ahem, we now return you to your regularly-scheduled Mithra...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Various^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
If Althaia were turned into a human being, she'd look like this:
[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v712/Astragem14/CharGallery/Tila_Nguyen_small.jpg[/image]
Though, she would still be played by Blake Lively in Dawn: the Movie because I think she'd do it very well. Check this URL for more information: [link=photobucket.com/albums/v712/Astragem14/CharGallery/Blake%20Lively%20is%20Althaia/]Blake Lively as Althaia[/link]
If Dawn was an anime, the voice actress for Alth Aaiaa would be: [link=www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,40479/]Melissa Gulden[/link] who played Jessica in Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete. Here's a sample: [link=www.lunareb.com/movies/lunarsssc/Jessica.wmv]Jessica's Intro[/link] (if it doesn't work, you probably have to allow Windows Media Player, assuming you have it, internet access with your firewall).
Althaia’s (if she were a real person!) Anime Heroines/Inspirations: Jessica from Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete, Felicia from Darkstalkers, Kid from Chrono Cross, Rikku from Final Fantasy X and X-2, Ryoko from Tenchi Muyo, Aeris from Final Fantasy VII, Aisha Clanclan from Outlaw Star, Nina from Breath of Fire games, Feena from Grandia, Faye from Cowboy Bebop, Rika from Phantasy Star 4, Mina/Sailor Venus from Sailor Moon, and Cammy from Street Fighter.
1. Jessica is such an Althaia. Hello?? Long ears, blond hair, semi-cat-thing-going on. She pretends to be a perfect, polite daughter, whips her boyfriend into shape, adventures off to save the world, is a priestess with divine healing powers, stands up for her beliefs, and isn't afriad to yell to get what she wants.
2. Felicia is a catwoman and an orphan; she's also one of the few examples of a cat-person that isn't totally ridiculous. Felicia is really too optimistic for Althy's tastes, which is probably because Felicia was raised by kind nuns in a small Christian orphanage and Althaia was raised by a sorority of mean-spirited thieves (who were subsequently slaughtered before her eyes). So, no, as hard as she'd try, Alth couldn't really buy into Felicia's eternally optimistic viewpoint. Both cats, however, have found purpose in religion/spirituality. Though they both like to take care of people, I think Felicia likes children more than Alth. Felicia, at the end of one of the Darkstalkers games and after beating the crap out of everything thrown her way, becomes a nun and starts an orphanage full of happy-faced little kids. Alth, after shedding her thievin'/lyin'/cheatin' past, becomes a white mage. Alth and Felicia both like to sing, too! For these reasons and more, Felicia would be a heroine/inspiration to/for Alth.
2. Felicia, part 2. Felicia represents the ideal dreamer -- and she's got the confidence to pursue her dreams as well as the optimism to not let it get her down when things don't go her way. In a manga I read, Felicia starred briefly in a catwoman version of Wizard of Oz. Her audience on opening night? A fat man sleeping, the janitor sweeping, and maybe a couple other people more interested in, ahem, [i]other[/i] activities to do in a nigh-empty, darkened theater. I'm pretty sure that musical turned into a one-night engagement. But did that get the aspiring actress down? No, not in the least! She got to keep a poster, after all. Hehe. It doesn't get her down at all that most directors are looking for women with, as one person delicately put it, a different "body shape" (read: not a catwoman!). This relentless pursuit of one's dreams in the face of criticism, coupled with courage, confidence, and optimism, is the ideal Alth Aaiaa tried very hard to embody for a long time when she was younger and an inexperienced adventurer with no parental supervision. Now, at 18, and with the lost of Avertan, she's found that she still wishes to pursue that ideal, but at, ahem, a less [b]hyperactive[/b] pace than when she was a teenager. And hey, being [i]the most powerful catperson on the planet[/i] kind of endears Felicia to Althy too, hah.
3. Kid is a youthful persona with a personality closer to Althy's than Felicia's (who is unbelievably optimistic, something that Althy is decidedly not), but after much debate I decided that Felicia would be more of a heroine/inspiration to Althy than Kid. Kid is a teenage street urchin/adventurer with a real sense of adventure, is young, and has blond hair and talks tough/hides her true feelings but is actually sensitive. ;D
4. Rikku is smart, sly, blond, and bold -- I haven't actually played FFX or FFX-2, but I've read about Rikku, lol. She's got an adventersome/wild spirit like Althaia, too. Maybe if I'd played FFX and FFX-2, Rikku would be higher on this list, but for now she stays at number 4.
5. Ryoko is the quintessential powerful-space-pirate-with-loud-attitude and a sense of adventure. Althaia's a pirate with 'tude, too, and Ryoko's got a bit of that cat-tish thing going-on. The reasons why Ryoko isn't higher on this list are because of her bad temper, tendency towards jealousy and sloth, and the fact that she drinks to excess, all of which are things Alth wouldn't approve of. Although, Alth admires Ryoko's intelligence and paranoia, which have been known to save Tenchi and company from deceptive beings (other than herself, of course).
6. Aeris I list so far up the list because, well, she dies and becomes divine-ish AND is from a Final Fantasy game. Hehe. Althaia's got a divine-ish side to her, as well, and both gals love to play the white-mage-support role -- and hit things with their big stick. Go, team!
7. Aisha Clan-Clan isn't exactly Althaia-ish. But I place her on this list because she's a good example of a light-haired, cat-person with a brazen attitude, and that's how Althaia is on the outside. Aisha's got a temper Althaia could relate to, as well, and Alth has been known to take things too far when her temper gets the best of her, just like Aisha. But Althaia and Aisha would disagree when it comes to obeying authority, following orders, and trying to capture outlaws, hah hah. Still, Althaia would like Aisha's never-give-up spirit and kick-butt attitude. Certain members of Dawn might also agree that both catgals are irritating and have voices that grate on their very last nerves. ;)
8. Nina, granted, changes from Breath of Fire game to Breath of Fire game, but she essentially stays teen, somewhat winged, blond, and healer-ish, all four of which Althaia can identify with, if you take winged to be a sign of divinity.
9. Feena's got the confidence and attitude, all right! Starts off in the game as 15 and the world's Number One Adventurer; her parents died, so Althaia can relate with her on the orphan level as well.
10. Faye is an orphan and a wanderer with a past that's murky even to herself, which is the situation Althaia was in when she first started adventuring; Althaia would identify with Faye's playful attitude, but probably wouldn't betray her companions as much as Faye does -- and Althy wouldn't be a big fan of Faye's astronomical gambling debt. Still, both Faye and Althy tend to get into the wrong kind of trouble when they least want it.
11. Rika has long ears! Long ears ftw! (ftw = for the win). I'm pretty sure Rika was the only long-eared character in Phantasy Star 4. Oh, and hey, Rika claws things, which is something Althaia would like -- of course, Rika does it with weapons, not actual claws. Personality-wise, Althaia would admire Rika's strength of spirit and intelligence, but other than that, she probably wouldn't get along too well with Rika's demur attitude. So Rika's pretty far down on this list because, again, the only real point of admiration is... long ears!
12. Mina/Sailor Venus. Did I ever have to work to figure out how to fit her into this list, haha. Yes, Mina is really one of MY favorites of all time, and I had to think hard to come up with a legit Althy reason for her to be on this list. Namely, Sailor V goes by many names, likes flashy entrances, and is competent in almost everything she does -- except love, where she fails miserably (but never stops trying)! Ironic, considering her planet was named after the goddess of Love. Althy would like Sailor Venus's general attitude (let's kick bad guy's butts then dream about our love-lives), blond hair, strong belief in the power of love, competence, and the fact that she owns a cat. Heh heh.
13. Cammy from Street Fighter. Oh, how I loathe this fact, but it's true! I am a HUGE Chun-Li fan, but her Far Eastern martial arts and look, quest to avenge her father (not exactly something Alth can relate to), being a musician, and kick-butt attitude (as well as happy-dappy victory celebrations), wouldn't be enough to win Alth over. Cammy's blond and kicks butt, which helps, but what really seals it is the fact that Cammy is a teenage amnesiac who used to be used for evil purposes (puppet assassin for M. Bison), but was rescued and now fights for the cause of good; the basic outline of this is something to which Alth can relate, given her past. But come on! Chun-Li is a fighting GODDESS! She beat Bison in the SF2 official storyline! Damn it. ; ; Cammy also has a troubled mind, loves cats, and is Blood Type B, yay! (My bloodtype is B+, lol, so you can guess that if it ever comes up, so is Althaia's). And Chun-Li decides to become a martial arts instructor for children, in the end, which Alth wouldn't be a big fan of, whereas Cammy fights terrorists and robots and such. Heh heh.
[link=www.cammyfan.com/Cammy-info/cammy101/cammy101.htm]Cammy fansite with Cammy info[/link]
[link=www.kikouken.com/information/info.htm]Chung-Li fansite with Chung-Li info -- I will not let this rest! Chun-Li is my SF heroine![/link]
If you can think of any other anime babes that remind you Althy, or you think she'd like, let me know! If it's an anime (or video game) that I've encountered, I'll consider it. ;D
No comments:
Post a Comment