6.4 update

csv/AkatsukiNoteString.csv

@@ -342,9 +342,49 @@ Innately ungifted in magic, the Garleans once relied upon mages recruited from f
 94,"For centuries, the Garleans warred with the Corvosi for control of the warm and fertile lands south of Ilsabard's central mountains, but they were eventually defeated and driven into the northern wastes. Winters in the Garleans' new home were harsh. The northern seas were bound in ice for most of the year, and the resources of the waters were available for only a slim window. Likewise, farming and rearing animals were possible only at certain times. The land, in other words, could not support a large populace. The Garleans multiplied slowly, and over time were forced to accept being few in number.
 
 There was but one benefit to the frigid land—its vast deposits of ceruleum. This deep-blue liquid burned as well as oil, and kept the hearth warm during the long, dark times of year. Indeed, had it not been for this natural resource, the Garleans would not have survived the severe winter cold. Yet, it was to be a long time before the advent of the ceruleum engine, and the Garleans realized what a boon this liquid was."
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+95,"The Students of Baldesion"
+96,"The Students of Baldesion"
+97,"Founded by Galuf Baldesion as a research organization devoted to combating threats to the star, the Students of Baldesion study all manner of relics, magicks, and unexplained phenomena in lands near and far.
+
+In stark contrast to other Sharlayan organizations that would adopt their city-state's policy of nonintervention, the Students have often collaborated with foreign scholars in their never-ending pursuit of knowledge. G'raha Tia's assignment to the Sons of Saint Coinach during the Crystal Tower expedition, as well as the Students' constant support of the Circle of Knowing and their successor, the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, are two notable examples of this philosophy in practice. Since their conception, this academic collective has also served as an advisory body to the Forum and other influential parties, identifying potential threats to mankind and providing counsel as needed.
+
+The Students' headquarters were once located on the Isle of Val, a remote island south of Sharlayan which Galuf had purchased with considerable funds accumulated over the course of many adventures. The facilities constructed there allowed his organization to thrive and perform research independent of the Sharlayan motherland, but this selfsame independence rendered them uniquely vulnerable to attack. The Isle of Val abruptly vanished one day, and it was later determined that a terrible magick was responsible, having obliterated the isle and nearly all who were present at the time.
+
+In recent days, the remaining Students have made the Baldesion Annex in Old Sharlayan their base of operations. Krile, adoptive granddaughter of Galuf, has assumed the role of leader for the time being, hoping to carry on her grandfather's legacy."
+98,"Thancred"
+99,"Thancred Waters"
+100,"Scion of the Seventh Dawn
+Gunbreaker"
+101,"A member of the Scions, Thancred grew up in the backstreets of Limsa Lominsa, and spent his adolescence snatching purses with a band of petty thieves. One day, he targeted an Elezen man who had come to the maritime city-state to study aether. Unbeknownst to Thancred, that man was Louisoix Leveilleur and just as the boy drew near, the Archon sent him flying to the cobbles. Caught red-handed, Thancred was certain he would be tossed onto one of the city-state's prison hulks. Instead, Louisoix offered him an alternative─use his gods-given agility to aid his fellow man. Thus, the Midlander boy returned with the Archon to Sharlayan, and there began to study survival and intelligence gathering techniques. He became an expert in both, then an Archon, and then a member of the Circle of Knowing.
+
+In the years leading up to the Seventh Umbral Calamity, Thancred was dispatched to Ul'dah on a mission of paramount importance. He would work surreptitiously to undermine the interests of the Garlean Empire, who had begun preparations for a future campaign of conquest in Eorzea. In the course of his duties, he was present at a parade during which a goobbue broke free and rampaged through the city, resulting in the death of a man named Warburton. Though his identity as a double agent for the Empire and Ala Mhigan Resistance were of particular interest, Warburton's true legacy would be Ascilia, the daughter he left behind, and for whose welfare Thancred thenceforth felt personally responsible.
+
+While Thancred wanted to ensure Ascilia's safety and well-being, his responsibilities meant that he could not act as a proper guardian. The songstress F'lhaminn instead adopted her, though Thancred made a point to visit when he could, as well as bestow upon her a new name to help hide her from her father's enemies. Thus did she come to be known as Minfilia Warde, and while she grew older over the years, a part of him always saw her as that crying child in the streets─a daughter for whom Thancred should have done more.
+
+In the wake of the Calamity, fate would see both Thancred and Minfilia join the Scions of the Seventh Dawn─he as a member, and she as their leader. Thancred was instrumental in many of the Scions' victories, but the events that followed the bloody banquet would forever change him. While holding off pursuers with Y'shtola during their escape from Ul'dah, the mage cast a forbidden spell to facilitate a swift escape. There were consequences, however, and his journey through the Lifestream saw him lose his ability to properly control aether and magicks. Yet what pained him far more was the loss of Minfilia, who had gone missing in the chaos. His grief was further compounded when he learned she had been summoned to Hydaelyn's side to serve as the Word of the Mother, a vessel for the deity's will─and one seemingly devoid of Minfilia's.
+
+The two were reunited after the Scions' clash with Ardbert and the Warriors of Darkness, where Urianger called upon Hydaelyn to intercede on behalf of the First. Hearing this earnest appeal, the Word of the Mother appeared and resolved to journey with the fallen champions unto their world and save it from the Flood of Light. Though Hydaelyn spoke through her, Thancred realized to his relief that Minfilia was still present...but this joy was tempered by the understanding that they would soon part ways once more. Bitter though it was, Thancred accepted this outcome, for he knew that Minfilia would make him proud.
+
+Thancred was the first of the Scions called to Norvrandt by the Crystal Exarch. After his arrival he learned of how the Word of the Mother had sacrificed herself, and of the existence of the Oracle of Light, a girl who had inherited Minfilia's name and soul both. To save her from a life of imprisonment, he breached the gaols of Eulmore and took her into hiding. He taught the Oracle how to fight and survive, and continued to care for her well after the other Scions joined him on the First. Though their relationship was complicated, no matter how daunting the foe, the two would stand together, for Thancred believed he had found in the Oracle another chance─another daughter for the one he had lost. And when she found the strength to stand for herself and not be defined by Minfilia's legacy, Thancred would bestow upon her a new name: Ryne, his “blessing.”
+
+Now returned to the Source, Thancred continues to fight for the future of the star Minfilia loved so much. He often travels with his boon companion, Urianger, who notes that Thancred has developed a habit of gazing at the night sky, a smile on his face as he considers the stars. Though one can only speculate what he is thinking in those moments, Urianger likes to believe his thoughts are of Ryne─and that no matter the distance between them, in his heart they are never far apart."
+102,"Zodiark"
+103,"Zodiark"
+104,"Primal"
+105,"Like Hydaelyn, Zodiark is one of the eldest and most powerful of primals. To define what exactly He is, one must first define Light and Darkness─polar opposites whose core components differ from the six main elements of which the star is composed.
+
+The ancients classified Light as that which governs tranquility and stasis. It is a pure white energy bereft of color or movement, and in modern terminology, an element of this nature would be defined as “umbral.” In contrast, Darkness was classified as that which spurs growth. It is an energy of deepest black─a cacophony of life's myriad colors─and contemporary scholars would define elements of this active nature as “astral.” As such, Zodiark is Darkness and activity given form, while Hydaelyn, who would be His undoing, was conceived as the embodiment of peace and Light everlasting. In the world unsundered, these concepts lacked any associations with good and evil; Light and Darkness were simply fundamental energies that coexisted in all things.
+
+Approximately twelve thousand years ago, a vast quantity of Darkness was required to forestall the coming of the Final Days, that its dynamic nature might ensure that the celestial currents of Etheirys did not stagnate. So it was that the ancients devised a plan to create a god who would embody Darkness itself, and at the order of the Convocation of Fourteen, half of the star's surviving population gave their lives to bring Zodiark into being.
+
+Serving as the primal's heart was the emissary Elidibus. Though countless ancients sacrificed their physical aether and tethered their very souls to Zodiark, Elidibus, having judged his duties unfinished, created a reflection of himself to keep vigil over his allies. Zodiark's untold power averted disaster for a time...yet those who survived and had come to worship Him sought to perpetuate the cycle of sacrifice. They vowed to reap the new life they had sown in His name to resurrect those who had rendered up their essence to fuel the primal's summoning.
+
+Venat and her followers stood in opposition to Zodiark's faithful. Believing that a new generation should inherit Etheirys, they summoned forth Hydaelyn, a second primal born of collective sacrifice, with Venat to serve as Her heart. And so Hydaelyn brought Her tranquil Light to bear against Zodiark's relentless Darkness in a terrible battle. Hydaelyn narrowly emerged the victor, and with Her final strike sundered Zodiark and the star itself into fourteen shards. With Her enemy fragmented and too weak to resist, Hydaelyn created a moon for each shard─a series of gaols in which the divided Zodiark would be sealed for all eternity.
+
+Outraged by the sundering of their world and their god, the Ascians─those who had belonged to the Convocation of Fourteen─resolved to revive Zodiark and restore the broken world to the paradise it once was. For millennia they plotted against Hydaelyn and Her followers, orchestrating events to achieve their ultimate goal, until one of their own chose to forsake this solemn charge.
+
+The Ascian Fandaniel, upon regaining his memories and understanding his true nature, rejected his role in his brethren's machinations. After learning of Elidibus's defeat on the First, he resolved instead to destroy Zodiark. Using Garlemald as his base of operations, the rogue Ascian orchestrated the summoning of the primal Anima, who would siphon aether from across the star and direct it into the Tower of Babil. Utilizing the tower as an aetheric cannon, Fandaniel crippled the mechanisms on the moon which kept Zodiark imprisoned, and subsequently traveled there to seize control of the elder primal by offering himself as His new heart.
+
+Though the Ascian was laid low by the Warrior of Light, Fandaniel reveled in Zodiark's defeat, as his ultimate goal was the return of the Final Days. In a final act of defiance, Zodiark reached into His chest and shattered His own heart, consigning the elder primal to a permanent death.
+
+With His demise on the Source, it is presumed that the reflections of Zodiark in other shards were destroyed as well, and the once-fettered souls of the ancients are finally free to return to the Lifestream."