Families Seek Justice After Gridanian Neglect Claims Lives

A judge has ruled a class-action lawsuit against the government of Gridania may go forward after an explosive report last fall claimed Wood Wailers and padjals alike failed to act on festering threats embedded in the ruins of Gelmorra. The lawsuit claims that the authorities failed to properly contain a known monstrosity for at least several months, leading to wrongful deaths (including at least two of Stillglade Fane's own workers), as well as lost productivity and crop output for local farmers.Reports state that at least eight missing persons reports over the last two years can be directly attributed to the malevolent presence of a mage who had carved out a base of operations in the unsanctioned portions of old Gelmorra. Sworn testimony describes the mage as a corrupted Duskwight riddled with tumors, her body bloating with cancerous overgrowth until she began to overrun the tunnels themselves with out-of-control flesh.During last year's harvest, farmers also attest to filing several reports with the Wood Wailers' Conjury Taskforce regarding unusual and disturbing flesh-like growths appearing in several fields. These growths were investigated and cleansed, but farmers report major losses after their fields yielded tainted crops that could not safely be sold or eaten. They state that they were never given answers and continue to this day to pay for conjurers to visit their fields to ensure the soil quality for spring planting.These disturbing revelations raise questions of Gridania's oversight of the historical ruins, as well as the preparedness of the Eorzean Alliance's Grand Companies in this newfound era of peace. The threat was purportedly laid to rest just before the holidays by private mercenary company Red Meridian, International. When reached for comment, their representative had this to say: "While we were relieved to step in and prevent further tragedy, the victims of this disturbing event will feel no such thing until the state properly answers for the question of why we ever needed to be called in at all."

Weary Ala Mhigans Call for CEO's Ouster

Sabrina Warden

If you've noticed scant offerings at the vendor stalls in Ala Mhigo, you're not imagining things.Braun Industries has risen as one of Gyr Abania's largest importers, outperforming its competition thanks in part to CEO Ylva Braun's deep connections to some of Eorzea's most competitive ports. Locals view her as a hero for bringing the world's flavors and a smile to still-healing Gyr Abania's doorstep - that is, until recent misses have called into question her title as the 'Near Eastern Commerce Queen'.The business has recently suffered a spate of lost shipments, the most recent of which included coveted luxuries such as cane sugar, La Noscean oranges, and artisanal goods from beloved northern jewelers. This has left local merchants in a bind."My customers know it ain't on me, but that doesn't put coin in my purse to keep food on the table," said Adelheid Redhand, a local merchant.Calls for Braun's resignation have grown to a fever pitch, and anger has boiled over in some cases, resulting in the CEO's recent assault that left her with nine stitches and a fractured arm after fed-up merchants confronted her on her daily jog.A representative from Braun Industries stressed that they are doing everything they can to get to the bottom of their recent slip-ups. "We urge calm and patience from the people of Ala Mhigo -- and know that we depend on you just as much as you do us."

PROFILE

Mariya Vykova,
Mercenary Queen

GERARD ANTERS

They say that the Warrior of Light fired the first shot that day, but that Vykova fired the last.She personally led her corps onto the battlefield during the retaking of Ala Mhigo, racking up fifty-two confirmed kills of the imperial dogs that infested our homeland. They say she has a collection of third eyes that she's cut from the forehead of any purebloods unlucky enough to fall in battle against her.But she also has a softer side; when Bozja fell she was just barely a woman. Fleeing to Gyr Abania was all she could do. Since then she's given birth to five children, all of whom are sequestered away somewhere in the world away from the prying eyes of her many enemies.

She spends most of her time disciplining her fearsome force of mostly rookie fighters, the Vykova Eclipse. They are rumored to be nearly a hundred fighters in number. Not known for their professionalism or a particularly high success rate, they mostly rely on sheer numbers to get the job done.But how does she recruit so many warm bodies? Where are these recruits flooding to our home from? And what is she promising them that convinces them to lay their life on the line?These are but a few of the enduring mysteries surrounding the Mercenary Queen, Mariya Vykova.

'Til Sea Swallows All

Amaranth

Limsa Lominsa is an anomaly on the world stage.Set beside its peers, it looks almost obscene in its success. Ul'dah binds people with debt so elegantly it calls it opportunity. Gridania wraps racism and classism in the language of tradition and harmony. Ishgard enshrines birthright so completely that suffering becomes a civic inheritance. Against these, Limsa Lominsa appears—on the surface—as a libertarian paradise: no caste, no sacred bloodlines, no permanent ruler. Just the sea, the self, and the promise that anyone clever or ruthless enough can rise.It looks like proof that freedom works.That appearance is not accidental. It is recent. And it is fragile.Limsa’s current stability is not the natural outcome of its system, but the product of a very specific political moment—one engineered by the current Grand Admiral with extraordinary precision. Wartime did what ideology never could: it unified a city that does not like unity. An external threat large enough, close enough, and terrifying enough to make every internal rivalry feel indulgent by comparison.For a time, pirates stopped staring each other down. Crews folded themselves into a single banner not because they believed in the state, but because survival demanded coordination. The sea lanes mattered. The island mattered. The city mattered. And for once, no one had the luxury of asking who would benefit more when the smoke cleared.Wartime made restraint virtuous.
Wartime made obedience rational.
Wartime made Limsa look coherent.But that threat is gone.And now Limsa must return to being itself.

Limsan libertarianism likes to tell a simple story.We are all individuals.
We are capable of reason.
We are born free.The state exists not to command us, but to keep the water navigable and the knives pointed outward. The market, left to its own devices, allows talent to rise, effort to be rewarded, ambition to find its level.It sounds clean. It sounds honest.There is social conflict. Constantly. People collide, compete, undercut, betray. Some win. Some lose. Maybe the winners were smarter. Maybe they cheated. Maybe they were in the right place at the right time. Maybe they inherited something, a name, a favor that never gets written down.Who knows?But the winners win. And because they win, they get to decide what winning means.They decide which risks are admirable and which are reckless.
Which losses are tragic and which are deserved.
Which freedoms are sacred and which are “irresponsible.”If winners simply crushed losers outright, the system would collapse. Too many hungry people, too few knives sheathed. Limsa understands this instinctively. So the losers are allowed to win a little bit. Enough work. Enough coin. Enough hope to keep them invested.But not enough to change the rules.And right now, that is being held in check by a Grand Admiral who understands something the system does not teach: that restraint is not weakness. That winning does not entitle you to take everything. That Limsa’s freedom only survives if the person at the helm refuses to act like the system says they should.

Which brings us to the Trident.The coming Trident competition will be spoken of as tradition, as fairness, as the proof that Limsa renews itself without bloodshed. And in a narrow sense, that will be true. There will be rules. There will be ceremony. There will be legitimacy.But what the Trident actually does is remove the final brake: the personality of the current Admiral.The next victor will not inherit wartime unity. They will inherit a peacetime city full of remembered slights, deferred ambitions, and factions who have been patiently waiting their turn. They will inherit a libertarian system that tells them—implicitly, relentlessly—that victory is justification.And when restraint is no longer voluntary, it disappears.The Trident does not select for caution.
It does not reward humility.
It does not train leaders to govern contradiction.It selects for those who can win under the existing rules—and then hands them the authority to reshape those rules.That is when Limsa’s stability will unravel. Not in a single coup, not in open war, but through a slow return of old truths: crews arming “just in case,” trade narrowing to trusted hands, freedom becoming something you are allowed rather than something you assume.Limsa is stable today because someone exceptional is holding the system together against its own instincts.The Trident will soon test whether the system can do that without her.History suggests it cannot.

Say It Straight

A. Roman

Gagging for advice about shit going on in your life? I will give you no-nonsense feedback and ideas on how to get over whatever the fuck it is that’s bothering you.Trust me, following my advice has proven to work MOST of the time!Submit your questions anonymously.

I got another job offer. I’ve always been a loyal person and I’ve been with this company for several summers. Leaving would hurt them, and I’d miss my friends. But I’d make a LOT more money.
- Company ClimberCongrats! Being desired with respect to work? That’s a step up. That’s the next level. When you’ve gotten to the point people are asking YOU to work for them? You’ve done it. Just. Keep. Pushing.But I guess the main reason you
wrote in is because you’re struggling with leaving the people you’re with now. Your loyalty? Admirable. It’s good to be loyal to good people. What you need to think about here is what you value the most. Is it them? The people you’re working with now? Do you value them more than potentially more money, more freedom, more...SOMETHING?Or do you value the unknown stuff? Something fresh, a change of pace, a new opportunity? You wouldn’t be considering this other job if there wasn’t something about it you liked, wanted, or needed. Figure out what you value the most here.

My company keeps taking jobs I don’t agree with. I’m a mercenary – and I KNOW that mercenaries sometimes just take a job for coin, that sometimes doing the moral
thing isn’t possible. But...
- Bleeding HeartAlright, so your morals are being challenged. I get it – I’ve been in some similar situations. Mercenary work is fucking hard. You see some
really miserable shit and you just try to separate YOU from the shit you’re doing. It’s hard, and you won’t always succeed. There are going to be times where you can’t contend with it. Times where you have to step away from a job and let someone else handle it. That’s fine. Most likely, you will not be able to get your company to stop. Maybe you shouldn’t try.You probably don’t know their overhead, their costings, what they need to keep the place running. Do what’s right for you. If that means leaving and finding somewhere else to work? Fine. Stepping away from a job? Also fine. Both sides have an argument, but all you can do is manage yourself, here.

How do I meet a loose woman? I’ve been striking out with the ladies and I’m desperate, man.
- John GuymanFirst of all – yikes. I don’t think the question should be: ‘How do I find loose women’, it should be ‘what the fuck is wrong with me.’Me? I’m SURROUNDED by women, and I don’t mean in a sexual, I got six in my bed waiting for me at home, kind of thing. I mean they’re EVERYWHERE. So what’s wrong with you that you keep striking out, bud? You got a wonky dick? You got a fucked up face? Both of those things aren’t the end of your chances, you know. Short, ugly, a little bit dumb – those aren’t REASONS why you can’t find a partner. It’s you.Work on yourself, man. Figure your shit out, find a way to actually like yourself, and romance will come.

Final Notes!
Thavnair is beautiful, with gorgeous culture, delicious foods and wonderful people inside the city walls. But outside isn’t so friendly. Make sure you’re well equipped for some sun and serious trekkin’. If you get lost, backtrack your steps to the roads and make sure you stay hydrated. Trust your gut when it says “this is a bad idea” - that voice has saved my skin more than once!If all else fails? Run with onfidence! People hesitate when you look like you know where you’re goin’!Good luck! Have fun, walk alone and don’t die!
-I’zimzizi

TALES OF ADVENTURE

Amidst the Tempest!

Yasei Tempest

The adventurer’s life is never one with a simple or easy road. As an adventurer myself, I believe this to be quite true. The best way to portray this reality is to give any would-be adventurer a glimpse into the life they shall partake in henceforth, using my own experiences as an example.For my initial story, I will recount a recent journey of mine alongside my mentor, Miss Valetia. On this particularly eventful day, she contracted me to accompany her across the ocean to the New World. Her inquisitive nature had led her to question the truth behind the time dilation effect surrounding the dome and its residents, and she wished to investigate it firsthand. Knowing I had never been there myself, she bid me join her on this endeavor.Our journey was off to a rocky start straight from the get-go, as our ship was beset by a kraken only a day into the voyage. The sailor piloting the vessel needed quick wits and even quicker reflexes to chase the beast from our tail. Had he failed, it would have fallen to Miss Valetia and myself—but, as it turned out, he had just what was needed. It took the better part of a day, along with assistance from us both, but our assailant was held back long enough for us to make our escape.Not long after we finally set foot in Tuliyollal, we found ourselves mired in a rather tenuous process of obtaining authorization to reach the dome at all—an experience I do not remember fondly. It seems the people of the New World have quite a few stipulations designed to prevent unrestricted travel within their borders. Thankfully, the current acting leaders are not without mercy. While the process was taxing, it was ultimately successful.

With proper authorization in hand and our goal firmly in sight, our next destination was Shaaloani—a desert land beset by dangerous beasts, kept at bay by gun-bearing sheriffs and ingenious mechanical engineers. We avoided the worst of the wildlife during our trek, and any stragglers that attempted to make a meal of us were met with equal force. My mentor’s sheer power is truly formidable. Were I alone, I would have faced far greater trouble.After roughly half a bell of travel, we reached our destination: the dome leading to a new civilization, one forged in levin. Terrible thunderstorms were a near-constant presence within its boundaries, and the wildlife there had likewise fallen victim to its influence. Levin-charged beasts roamed the land, while abandoned, decrepit buildings stood as relics of the world that existed before the dome’s encroachment.The ambient levin seemed to make everything more hostile, from the environment itself to rogue automatons driven wild and set loose. Our attempts to gather information were constantly interrupted by powerful creatures on all sides. For every five minutes spent investigating, there were ten more spent fending for our lives. In some cases, I left Miss Valetia to her note-gathering while I held off man-sized pythons and hulking, horned beasts.By the better end of the day, we had finally gathered enough information to consider the mission accomplished. Though Miss Valetia never shared her conclusions with me directly, she was certain she now understood far more than when we had begun.As thanks for a hard day’s work, her reward to me was a full week of rest in Tuliyollal, entirely paid for by her. My mentor is truly gracious indeed, is she not?

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Plan to Revitalize Ala Mhigo's Third District Crystalizes

After the collapse of the Spinner's Spire, a derelict shrine abandoned in Ala Mhigo's third district, controversial politician Lucius Quaestor has moved at a breakneck pace to conceive, propose, and secure funding for a plan to replace the ruined lot with modern housing aimed at medium-income earners with the kind of educational skills and earning potential the third district lacks. Embedded in the proposal is a program calling for the establishment of a safety net for the district's poor to be funded by taxes on the two upper quartiles of earners. Job guarantees during reconstruction have also been attached as riders to the bill.Quaestor seems poised to score a big win for his district's impoverished, but there are those who are against the plan. Many that sit on the city council are casting aspersions at the speed at which he's acted, while others think that the public-private partnerships he's establishing are giving him too much power and authority in the city that effectively bypasses the Hext Administration and burgeoning legislative body's prerogatives.But most are simply breathing a sigh of relief that the problem of violent Garlean refugees who had settled into the ruined shrine and refused attempts to be resettled for months on end has resolved itself without creating more problems for Ala Mhigo.

Tremors Rattle Shaky Ala Mhigo

Sabrina Warden

A minor earthquake struck the city of Ala Mhigo overnight, rattling picture frames and teacups for most citizens. For those living near the epicenter in the city's third district, however, the shaking was a reminder of the precarious condition the city remains in after the Occupation. For veteran Ilse Boarsblood, the pace has been understandable, but also excruciating.
"We're tough as nails and a little shaking isn't going to change that, but we've still got limits," Boarsblood said. "Feels like the world's already moved on, some of our government officials included."Relief funds have been raised in recent years from nearby neighbors, including restitution from Ul'dah, and officials say they've been distributing the money according to need. One official said off the record, "Everyone is hurting, and when you hear the money's going to someone else's pain, you might hear that your pain doesn't matter. It does matter, but we're having to make hard decisions to make the greatest impact. I hope people can understand that."