Private Aetheryte were expensive, but not terribly so. The biggest issue was that they weren't easy to get your hands on. In addition, private Aetheryte didn't have those coordinating rings around them to help navigate you. This meant that private Aetheryte usage had a couple implications.
For one, a crystal could only teleport to itself. The size of an Aetheryte crystal corresponded to the distance it could send you, but since you had to split a crystal in half just to teleport between places, the range could never be massive.
The second issue was a common sickness people got when using Aetheryte too often, Thancred mentioned it before, jump-shy. A funny name that signified a risk of permanent Aetheric damage if your teleportation went wrong.
In XIV the Scions got to feel the cost of reckless teleportation first hand. Curiously enough, I never felt sick after teleporting, I had not once developed jump-shy(ness?) despite being such a heavy Aetheryte user. It felt... Comfortable in a way. I even hallucinated that I could control myself mid-teleport, but why would I play around with something so dangerous?
It's all fun and games until I got cocky, warped outside of the Aetheryte's network and ended up deep in Othard or something absurd like that.
None of those problems mattered too much, as I just needed a way for my women to get to and from their place of work from the manor. A fact that I was explaining to F'lhaminn carefully during our clean up.
Gluuuik-sluuurk-sluuuck-thuck-gliick-uurk-gluurk
Even though my beautiful Kan-E taught me Purify, I didn't bother to use it. Why would I? I had a perfectly good cum vacuum right here after all. I could replenish the Aether I'd lose in an instant, but it was still a waste in my opinion.
I held her head in my hand and used her throat as a cum depot as I pleased. I loved my women equally, but F'lhaminn's service was unmatched. Talent combined with instruction created a monster of a student. Well, when I thought about it, wasn't my Y'shtola equally terrifying?
I leaned back, letting my thoughts wander as my cock continued to receive its massage. Apparently, purring for Miqo'te was like a type of verbal tic. Some had it, others didn't. My F'lhaminn didn't purr, but I stroked her silky smooth hair as her plump lips worked my meat stick all the way to the base anyways.
SLUCK-PLUKTHUCKSLUCKGLURK-SPLUUURRRT-PUUUMP-PUUUMP-GOOOP-GLURK...gulp-gulp-sluck-slurp-sluck-glurk
I didn't pull out, and continued to pet my bitch, gazing at her mature ass and mischievous tail wiggling and shaking as she put her best effort into extracting more spunk from my balls. Without being prompted, she continued to swallow my length, coiling her bumpy tongue around my sex pole as best as she could in a fit of proper worship.
"Good girl..."
As far as I knew, Aetheryte were a wholly natural phenomenon and not a product of the Allagan Empire. They were an important strategic resource and if I didn't have close ties to E-Sumi-Yan, then there was likely no way I could've gotten my hands on one. Even with my beloved Kan-E, until she was the Elder Seedseer and ruled Gridania as sovereign, I would've had to wait.
Luckily for me, I had my ways. The plan I had made was to break the Aetheryte into 3 pieces. One for our manor, one for the Quicksand, and then the last for the Lotus Stand.
There was a method for protecting Aetheryte from being used by those who weren't authorized, attunement, but that was only good as a security measure against the poorly motivated. The Garlean Empire had ways to decrypt Aether signatures, some crazy method that I desperately wanted to learn. It was yet another reason why I needed to meet that bleach haired engineer that would defect from the Empire.
If I couldn't find a solution from him, then I'd have to invent a solution from scratch. I was no genius, there was a reason I always looked for experts before attempting to handle things myself.
---
My departure was rather uneventful. I had packed a few bundles of luggage onto Francesca, mainly being tools, maps, crystals, stones, and a variety of my homemade potions.
It was too early in the morning for the sun to start shining onto the sands of Thanalan. Instead, a beautiful and star-drowned night sky illuminated to world from above, gently painting the desert with shades of cerulean. I had attempted to leave my women in bed to keep sleeping while I departed, but I wasn't wholly successful. My Kan-E was seemingly more sensitive to my absence and ended up following me to the stables.
I turned away from my last bag, firmly attached to Francesca's satchel, and pulled Kan-E into my embrace by her motherly hips. I couldn't stop myself from staring deep into her forest green eyes. Her beauty was astounding, and the best part was that she was all mine.
kiss
I kissed her soft lips, savoring the sweet taste of maple sap, and held Kan-E close, letting her hear my heartbeat as we relaxed in silence.
"Worried?"
She quietly nuzzled against my chest like a spoiled cat. I could see a glimpse the various bite marks I had left on her skin, only a few though. The vast majority of my work was under her fuzzy white mage robes.
"Mn."
I took that response to mean something in between yes and no. In my experience, telling a woman not to worry too much was akin to telling a man not to think too hard. It seldom worked out easily. No matter how powerful someone was, crazier things had happened. I didn't expect to take another trip on this scale until the founding of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn.
I spoiled her further, running my fingers through her long golden hair. In XIV, she wore her hair in an ornate and intricate bun. Would she still wear that in the future? Or was my influence going to suddenly manifest in my Kan-E changing her diplomatic style? Well, I loved her either way.
"Darling..."
"Mm?"
"Do you remember that story I told you? The beast, Toto-rak?"
The dungeon of a similar name was originally connected to a Padjal folk story. There wasn't much information about it in-game, but Kan-E was happy to share the story with me. Toto-rak was a man-eating monster that crawled from the 7 hells. Every inch of its body was swarmed in a myriad of sharp teeth and gaping mouths that continuously bit down and begged to consume more. It was said that before the days of Gelmorra, this creature had swallowed up the denizens of the forest at the time to the point of extinction.
Only with the continuous work of the elements was the creature just barely banished back into the depths of the hells. The tale continued on to say that the reason why the elements still ruled as the will of the land and the representation of Nophica today, was because it was their power that held Toto-rak down, preventing the beast from swallowing humanity.
"I do."
I continued to gently ran my fingers through her hair, waiting for her next words.
"...Toto-rak did not just intake lives...but he also spat out lies. It is said that the true danger of Toto-rak was the damage that it could inflict with the power of words. One thousand maws, each telling a lie that could corrupt those that heard its song."
I chewed on what she was trying to tell me, letting it sink in and continuing to keep my ears open for the rest.
"I do not claim to know Ishgard, but you must be careful not to let their careless words become the chains that bind you... In that place, I do not think they know, nor do they care, for what their words can do. They likely hold even less care, especially for outsiders."
I considered it for a bit. I think I understood what she was getting at. Ishgard was a strict city-state and I didn't know what they considered to be blasphemous or taboo. I had to be careful not to let word spread and inquisitors come looking for trouble. I was already aware, but it filled my heart to know how much my Kan-E worried and thought ahead for me.
"Hmhm...since when did my precious Kan-E develop such wisdom? Hm? kiss"
"Kyaaa!"
"Hmm? When when when???"
kiss-kiss-bite
"KYAAA!!!!"
---
After a short period of affection, we traded quiet words in the form of kisses once more and Kan-E waltzed back into the Quicksand. I watched her as she walked in and only after the door closed, did I turn back to my affairs. I could feel a small smile playing at my lips and refusing to fade away. It'd take some time to cure my paralysis.
I adjusted my coat, which I still hadn't put on, as Mor Dhona was still quite a bit away, and took another look at my map. Common sense would dictate that to get to Mor Dhona, an area to the north of Ul'dah, I'd need to go through Northern Thanalan, however reality wasn't always that straight forward in XIV. I could've had a terrible sense of direction, but my senses told me that I had suffered at the hands of common sense when trying to navigate Eorzea before. It didn't hurt to double check, despite already being more than half sure of my destination.
'Central Thanalan.'
I tucked the map into my shoulder bag and hopped onto Francesca. Holding the reins with one hand, I used the other to stroke her feathers.
"Ok, let's go."
Kweh
Francesca began a simple trot forward. If I wanted more comfort, then I could've hitched her to a wagon, but I had no choice in this matter. I had to travel light as after I reached Mor Dhona, it would be just me on my feet to reach Ishgard.
---
Within minutes, after being stopped by the guard and waved through the carriage port, we had departed from the high walls and shady embrace of Ul'Dah. There was an alternate route that I had learned of that led through the North Shroud to reach Coerthas, but unlike the hellish canopy of trees where any beast could lurk behind any corner or atop any branch, Thanalan's route was the one I deemed to be far safer. In addition, there was a point on my route that I had wanted to hit sooner rather than later.
[Protect]
Shiing-Clank
Protect was a basic Conjurer-adjacent spell that any healing class could learn very early on. It was essential for any and all content as it applied a long-lasting defense buff for the entire party. There was Stoneskin as well which stacked with Protect, however I had not yet learned how to cast it. Likely because White Mage spells weren't as simple to replicate. Unlike Black Mage spells, where the only real limit was if you had the Aether to cast in the first place.
[Aero]
Vwii-oosh
I had finally found a use for this trash spell when it was attuned with Astral polarity. A screen of nearly transparent green winds wrapped around Francesca and I in a bubble shape, protecting us from sand and dust. It did little else, but it worked well enough. It was better than keeping a turban and scarf with me at the very least. Clothing items that would quickly become dead weight after we passed through Thanalan's sands.
Central Thanalan wasn't too much more odd than other parts of Thanalan. The biggest difference was that it was more akin to a savanna being consumed by sand rather than strict desert. Small trees sprouted from the ground here and there, drawing deep from aquifers hidden under the earth to fuel their growth. I could see the occasional camp spawn over the horizon, camps containing merchants or refugees in equal measure.
There weren't many beasts roaming about the place, a blessing for my travels to go smoothly. The main feature of Central Thanalan was a small town built around a railroad station. Black Brush Station, or as it was currently known, Camp Black Brush, was a product of Ul'dah's mining industry growing wings and flying to new heights.
Or at least, that would be the case if it actually fucking existed.
Francesca and I slowly trotted past an Aetheryte sitting in the middle of a well built campsite. Large round tents connected together with strips of fabric made them into homes. I once again found myself astounded. Where the hell was it??? Where was anything? The world in ARR was so lively that I continuously took it for granted. Was 1.0 truly this barren? The camp was surrounded with a waist high wooden fence, the wood looked to be intentionally charred, a method that would help repel pests and seal the structural insides from the weather outside.
On the otherside of the camp was a massive expanse of untouched and wild savanna that stretched beyond the horizon. On foot this would have been torture, but on Chocobo, perhaps I could make it to Northern Thanalan in 2 or 3 days. I double checked my water flask before realizing how stupid that was. I was a mage. I didn't require much food or water in the first place, but even if I did, I could just cast ice or water magic to quench my thirst. With a small amused snort out of my nose, I walked Francesca down and started marching deep into the wilds, ignoring the disappointing excuse for a town.
---
chirrrrp-chirrrrp
The insects that populated Thanalan's desert finally had found a time when the sun wasn't trying to cook them into crunchy bits and crawled out of their hiding spots. With the relief of a sudden and firey death evaded, they grew bold, and tried to get the jump on me, only to get torn to shreds by Aero's invisible winds.
I was never good with bugs. I had a strong memory that even in this life refused to leave me. A cockroach, larger than my hand was stuck fast to the wall and was about to crawl into my room. I got a broom, trying to flick it away and instead of doing that, that bastard JUMPED from the wall and FLEW at my face. It was impossible for my mother to calm me down.
"Do you sleep standing up?"
I asked Francesca, who didn't seem interested in sitting down by the campfire. I hadn't seen her sleep or anything before. Even when resting, she seemed content to stand up straight. It wasn't as if she was keeping an vigilant eye out for danger or anything. In fact, she seemed rather lazy about it all.
...Kw-Kweeh...?
It seemed like I asked a strange question. Did horses sit? They could lay down, but I didn't think they did so naturally. But surely Chocobo had to sit? They lay eggs after all! Do they just tip over onto their sides or something? Could they even get back up?
"Then how do you sit on eggs?"
...
Francesca tucked her wings in and squatted down. Oh...
"So you have to squat rather than sit? And hold that position?"
Keweh
"Yikes."
Kweh.
She then promptly stood up again.
Being a Chocobo was tougher than I thought it was.
---
We continued our trip out into the savannas of Central Thanalan when morning came. I didn't sleep very well, only getting around 3 hours or so, but it was enough for me to operate. A quick cleanse of Purify, a reapplication of Protect and Aero, and I was good to go. I could use some coffee. There was a fantastic bistro in Limsa Lominsa that served a lighter roast that I fell in love with during my time there. I made a mental note to go back for more soon.
The myriad arm cacti stood tall here and there, giving me flashbacks of that Cactuar I once ran into. I wasn't sure if Francesca was faster than that little bastard, but it was certainly faster than me on foot.
Taking a look behind me, I could see what I had expected to be Black Brush Station looming on the cliff on the horizon. We hadn't made as much progress as I expected. No wild beasts had come to bother us on the trip so far so it was rather peaceful being outside of Ul'dah's influence. It was like nothing mattered except for the sand beneath our feet.
In Central Thanalan, there used to be a sister nation of Ul'dah named Sil'dih. The twin cities came about from their common ancestor city-state, Belah'dia about 500 years ago. Belah'dia was created almost immediately after the Calamity of Water had drowned the world. When magic was outlawed, mages were hunted down and slain wherever they could be found. Mages and survivors of Mhach who continued to practice, despite the risks, eventually found themselves in the deserts of Southern Thanalan. They had presumably learned their lesson at first, and strictly practiced magic in the ways that they deemed that the Twelve had permitted, however leopards didn't change their spots.
Once more, mages hid their practices of Black Magic and secretly wrote tombs that echoed knowledge from the Fifth Astral Era. There were more records of Black Magic than White Magic in today's age and that was probably a result of these errant mages who couldn't let go of their study.
As the effects of the Calamity waned over the course of a few hundred years and the peoples of Belah'dia began to thrive, they started to receive guests and migrants. First the Lalafell, who drank deep of the Mhachi mage's study. Then Hyur, who still had reservations of those elder magicks.
As all states do, Belah'dia began to expand, taking territory, making stories and false tales that explained their nation's origins. They had established a monarchy, claiming a divine right to rule that the Twelve had bequeathed upon them. The state began to collapse due to infighting in those royal circles and undercurrents of prejudice and fear. The final straw was the death of the kingdom's sultan, sparking a war of inheritance between twin princes, Sasagan and Sasawefu.
What followed was the natural division of Belah'dia into twin city-states. Sil'dih and Ul'dah. Historians chirped coyly here and there that the twins conspired to kill their father and take over the Sisigan Dynasty by force, but no one would attach their name to such a claim.
Each prince began to hire sellswords to fight in the place of a formal army. A generation later, Sasawefu's son, Lalawefu, began work on securing a way to dominate Ul'dah through financial means. He got his grubby paws on a stable and clean water supply, earning the nickname, King of Springs. However that water that he had suddenly found and began to capitalize upon was actually diverted from Ul'dah. Despite his work on stabilizing Sil'dah's economy and bringing the city-state to a high beyond what Ul'dah could reach, his actions could be called the direct reason for his nation's downfall.
I wasn't sure how they resolved it, but it didn't take long for Ul'dah to find out that their water source, a very small river that once fed into their city's reservoir, had been tampered with. When a particularly terrible drought came through Thanalan, Sil'dih entered a recession, which Ul'dah wasted no time capitalizing on.
The War of the Sisters broke out. Using their inherited techniques of gladiatorial might and military strategy, Sil'dih kept Ul'dah at bay. In those days, Ul'dah had taken the flame of magic from Belah'dia's remains rather than an immediate military. Sil'dih also were able to construct mechanical golems, capable of standing toe to toe with even the most skilled merc squad.
Such a vicious war, combined with the cultural history that Ul'dah was steeped in, introduced the rebirth of Black Magic into the common consciousness. The terrible mages of Mhach had once again marked the star with their stain.
Ul'dahn mages allied with Amalj'aa beast tribes and developed a horrible powder called Trader's Spurn, a dust of necromancy. Large pouches of this dust were catapulted into Sil'dah, raising the dead and allowing them to feast on the living from within Sil'dah's walls.
Ul'dah's officials used the horrifying screams by pointing at Sil'dah's blatant use of Necromancy and it became a thin justification that they used to draw more conscripts, the righteous and foolish, into their war. The righteous and foolish became the Immortal Flames, vanquishers of the immortal undead. With that internal distraction, a righteous and stupid force, and the aid of beastkin allies, Ul'dah marched into Sil'dah, wiping it's history away into the sands and moving the capital of Ul'dah onto it's corpse.
There was a time when it came out that the sitting Sultan knew about Trader's Spurn and the ruling dynasty died for almost 150 years, being supplanted by the Thorne dynasty, but after the remnants of undead that escaped the ruins of Sil'dih were vanquished, the Thorne dynasty handed power back to the Ul Dynasty. It was where the nation sat today. On the corpses of their brothers and sisters. Flickering with dark magic, evil ambitions, and glittering pouches of gold.