The Journal of Lanih

[Lanih]

Hi everyone ^^ I decided to start a journal since everyone else does so, too xD I'm writing this in character, which seems to be a popular (and fun) way to do it.

First, I'll give you a brief description of my character's history:
Lanih lost he memory at the age of twelve, when an unknown fiend attacked her family's house in Kazham and hit her unconscious. The first thing she remembers is waking up in Port San d'Oria, in a warehouse. Someone had left her a backpack filled with some food and other useful stuff. Even though she necessarily didn't want to, Lanih got skilled in the arts of small-scale thievery and became quite good in using daggers. Years after, she still had no idea why she was in San d'Oria and what had happened. Let's hope she'll find some answers in the future ^_^

Here's a pic of Lanih, fighting against a rabbit in one of her first real fights, for starters. San d'Orian sunset really is something you could die for <3
http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/001.jpg

I'll post the first real entry later on today or then tomorrow.

[L0gik4l]

Well somebody new in here now. Well let me be the first to welcome you in this world. I really like the story about how it all started. The first one that I have seen. And it will go a long way! GL in your adventure(s) with many people that you will travel with. some you end up on befriend list, some you end up on blacklist. We all go though it. But gl!

[Lanih]

Thank you :D It's really nice to see that newbies like me aren't ignored around here. I really appreciate it ^^

Time for the first entry. From now on, I'll be writing in-character, unless otherwise noted.



My first days out in Ronfaure were pretty much full of training. I smashed and cut down so many rabbits I almost started to pity the poor things xD Anyways, I started to feel like buying some new equipment. The bandana seems to be too big for me ^^;
http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/002.jpg

After testing out the new gear, I went back into the city and decided to walk around a bit, looking for some honest work for a change... I ran into an Elvaan thief, who stole something from a guard in Port San d'Oria. She called herself 'Esca the Swift'. Hahah, I tracked her down in no time xD Poor bastard. I decided not to give her a whacking, because.. ehm.. Elvaans are so tall and scary ^_^;; I returned the stolen item to the guard and he gave me an axe. As a thief, I can't use it and I'm no fan of axes, but I'm gonna give it a try if I ever decide to try the life of a warrior.

I also delivered parcels, gave out flyers, hunted meat, reunited families and all kinds of other stuff.. Just a normal day, eh? ^_~ I collected a nice amount of money while helping people, so I bought a sword just to try it out.
http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/003.jpg

I was pretty much exhausted after playing around with the sword for a while so I decided to go to my mog house and hit the hay after the busiest day in my whole life ^^

[Kyrial Arthian]

Very nice journal, Lanih. Can't wait to see more. ^^

[L0gik4l]

Yea I can't wait either, I like the storys, kinda puts a little ummmp...into the real life of what its like in there! My journal isn't as good as this. Mine is put to shame by this one and this is a brand new one! lol

[Hidoku]

I haven't started a journal yet, but yours was cool. Maybe I will consider it. Keep up the good work!:biggrin:

[Drawmuh]

You should plan on keeping this journal im pretty sure it would be pretty popular

[Lanih]

(OOC: Yeah, I think I'll be updating this journal quite frequently for a long time ^_^ My entries aren't that long but that makes it easier to update more often.)

Two days ago, I was training and seeking a party in eastern Ronfaure, when an Elvaan WHM contacted me. We headed to King Ranperre's Tomb for training and I must say I had a good time ^^ After a while, I had to go back to the city, so we said goodbye and the WHM gave me a linkpearl :D Later on, I talked with my fellow LS-members and I think I've made some good friends.

Next day, I decided to test how good I was with a bow xD
http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/004.jpg

Soon, my LS-friends decided to head out to La Theine for training and I went along. I got some nice exp there, and maxed my dagger-skill for level 10 ^^ Here's a pic of us fighting an Akbaba. There's me, our LS-leader Rosiel and some other people we picked along. We even had a SMN in our party :D
http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/005.jpg

Eventually, people started to get tired and we all had our backpacks almost full of loot so some people decided to get back to San d'Oria. Me and two other members of our party still stayed there, hoping to get some replacements. We sat there for almost a day, but nothing happened.
http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/006.jpg

So we left for Sandy also, and went our separate ways. I soloed a few mobs and reached level 11, so I was finally able to buy some new equipment. Enthusiastic about my new gear and the fact that I was once again able to use my dagger, I went back to La Theine, seeking a party. But once again, no luck ^^;
http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/007.jpg

I got tired and ran back home. I was a bit disappointed, but then again, I think I'll get to fight in a party more than enough in the near future ^_^

[In the Shadows]

aww what poor luck , ive been fortunate enough to never have party problem being a fellow theif maybe it was just a bad day.
Nice Journal and pics by the way

[TTBM]

You've inspired me to make my own journal once I get my credit card payed off... I hope I still remember how to play.. I'm not too keen of starting over but it'll feel like new since It's been four months since I've played...

I'll see some'f you online in a week!

[Kyrial Arthian]

Another nice entry, Lanih! ^^ Congratz on the new equipment; I know how excited I was when I got my Doublet set at lvl 11. ^^

[Lanih]

(OOC: Thank you for the comments, everyone! I'm updating again tomorrow, I have some nice pics from my journey to Windurst ^_^ I'll have to think about a reason for Lanih to become a Windurstian, though, but I think it'll have something to do with her heritage :))

[Kyrial Arthian]

Yay, Lanih is beoming Windurstian! ^_^ 'Tis only natural, being as Windurst is TEH BEST NATION EVAR!11!!11 XD Can't wait to see the next entry, Lanih! ^^

(BTW, are you actually changing your allegiance to Windy? That'd be cool, but how can you afford it? o_O Oh wait, just remembering you're not on Quetzalcoatl. XD We're in first again on my server; we usually are. So it costs 40k to change allegiance to us. :dead: The reason I know this is that Veteran started in Bastok to get the Bastokan Ring, and wanted to switch to Windurst, only to find out how much it costed. So he waited till we droped to 2nd, when it cost like 12k. He would've waited for us to drop to 3rd for an even lower price, but we NEVER drop to third. :cool: )

[Lanih]

A few days ago, I had a really strange dream. There was a green city, filled with magic and beauty. And there was someone really familiar in that dream, I just couldn't recall who she was. I went to the Rusty Anchor in Port San d'Oria to get some breakfast and told the innkeeper Thierride about the dream I had. He couldn't tell me anything I didn't already know, but an adventurer happened to overhear my story and he told me it was Windurst I saw. He had visited Windurst, so I asked him things about the city. He said I kind of looked familiar, but I had no idea how that could be possible. He didn't have any names to give me, the only thing he said was that I should look for a Mithra who has devoted herself to protecting Windurst and it's leader. I went to sleep thinking about those words and got more and more convinced that I'd find at least some fragments of my past from the green capital in the continent of Mindartia.

The next morning, I decided to run to Windurst. The trip through La Theine Plateau was uneventful but I almost got myself killed while crossing Valkurm Dunes >_< Damn goblins. I arrived to Selbina pretty long after nightfall, so I was too tired to explore the town more. I headed to the inn and slept for a few hours before heading to the docks. I took some pics while waiting for the ship to Mhaura to arrive :P

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/008.jpg

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/009.jpg

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/010.jpg

I was really excited when the ship finally arrived, because I'd never been on a ship before. The trip was pretty nice, even though it rained for the first couple of hours. People told me to watch out for the monsters during the trip, but we had a high-level samurai on the ship with us so I wasn't too worried.

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/011.jpg

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/012.jpg

When we arrived to Mhaura, it was pretty late already, but I took a risk and decided to run through Buburimu Peninsula even though it was already getting dark. But when I got to Tahrongi Canyon, I decided to stop running because (I have to admit) I was too scared to go on ^^; Here's a random pic of me running through Buburimu, scared to death xD

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/013.jpg

I continued my trip after daybreak and got safely through Tahrongi. I was so so SO happy when I finally reached Sarutabaruta. I felt so happy I was almost crying ^^ I quickly dashed through the beautiful green plains and soon reached the city. It took me a while to realize I was finally there. The whole place felt so... magical, alive and... somehow really familiar. I couldn't do a thing but just sit there.

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/014.jpg

After sitting in Windurst Woods for a while I found my way to the residential area and said hello to my moogle who was already there. I was exhausted because of the long run, so I decided to sleep a bit before visiting the Heavens Tower.

When I woke up, I felt really refreshed; I hadn't slept like that in a long time. I headed to Windurst Walls and immediatly was amazed by the beauty of the Great Star Tree. I couldn't believe I was actually going to go in there ^^ I met the Windurstian allegiance-changer and he told me to fill in the application. After I did that, he said it'd cost me 12000 gil! I almost fainted xD It's really gonna take a while, but I'm getting there. Sooner or later. My chances of finding the mysterious Mithra depend on that citizenship, and I feel like I have no other choice than to get it. Wish me luck ^^

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/015.jpg

[Kyrial Arthian]

Wow, VERY good journal entry, Lanih! Intriguing story... I'm pretty sure I know who that mysterious Mithra she's searching for is, but I won't spoil it for anyone who doesn't. ;) I'm really liking this story; it's my new favorite. ^^ I'm probably gonna start checking it several times a day now for updates. XD This is originally a lot how I wanted my journal to be when I started, but I got lazy, so there's not as much story to it. :sweat: I have been thinking up more backstory for Kyrie lately though, and I'm thinking about maybe writing a little mini-fanfic about the incident that led her to become an adventurer that I'll post in my journal if I ever actually write it. And if I get that done, it might inspire me to write more about various points of her life, so maybe one day my journal will be as good as yours. :sweat: At any rate, keep up the good work, and may you never get writer's block! ^^

[Lanih]

(OOC: Heheh, yeah, the mysterious mithra ain't so mysterious for the Windurstian people ^^ I love writing stories with lots of plot twists so you can expect Lanih to have a pretty complicated past & heritage. And about writer's block.. I tend to have one every once in a while, but if/when it happens, I'll surely get over it soon enough :P)

[Rico]

Good luck getting Thief to 15 it's hard but worth it, you'll get more invites nya~

[L0gik4l]

WOW thats all I really got to say, now as lvled as I am. I quit writing in my journal because I can't stop reading this one. But hey, I like it, keep up the great work! It will be the biggest one I think that will ever come out with the way that you are doing it! Great job!

[Rosiel]

This is the first time I come to this forum, this is a really good journal, Lanih. I guess I'll have to check it all the time. I really like it. Maybe I should start my own too, but the problem is I am stuck with PS2, my computer is too busy for the game, so I can't really cap pictures. >_<

I hope you can stay in my LS group and help me bulid up a nice group of people, that will be great. ^^

[Rosiel]

By the way, I should really thanks you for helping me out in the King Ranperre's Tomb, otherwise I might not be able to come out alive.

[In the Shadows]

Lovely Journal , keep'em coming

[Lanih]

(OOC: Not many pics in this entry, because I forgot to turn Clipper on >_< But anyways... less pictures, more plot-thickening, haha xD)

I've been using my thief-skills a lot during the past few days, and I have to admit I kinda like it. No, I would never steal from those friendly and cute Tarutaru's - I've been bullying yagudo's. I've heard rumours of some friendly bonds between Windurst and the yagudo, but I haven't met a single friendly yagudo so I don't believe in it. Hunting down yagudo's and stealing their necklaces has become one of my favourite hobbies. The necklaces go to the one known as the Cat Burglar, Nanaa Mihgo. She's kind of arrogant, but I can't help the feeling of similarity when talking to her. I'd most likely be as annoying if I was more stronger xD My thiefy-side is really getting hold of me here.

I spent days in eastern Sarutabaruta, killing yagudo's and crawlers almost non-stop. While my intention was to only get money, I got a bit stronger too. Anyways, I finally got the 12000gil collected and headed back to Heavens Tower to refill my application for becoming a Windurstian citizen. They had to seal off some of my memories in the process, so my head felt a bit blurry when I woke up again. And that most likely explains the thing that happened next.

I woke up in Port Windurst. There were two Tarutaru's talking about something. They seemed to be a bit annoyed by some other Tarutaru being late or something, I can't remember clearly. Then they suddenly ran off, and when I turned around to look what they'd seen, I couldn't believe my eyes. Just before I saw the profile of the mithra, I had a flashback. I was in an airship, and there was a mithra with me. She wasn't much older than me but she was clearly there to look after me.

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/016.jpg

Semih Lafihna, head of the Sibyl Guards. She stared at me and for a while there, I think she was a bit surprised. Then she asked me if I was new to Windurst and some other stuff also. I couldn't concentrate, because I was kind of shocked, so I just nodded every time she asked me something.

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/017.jpg

A bit later, she said she'd have to leave. The only thing I remember clearly was the last thing she said; If I'd do my best in serving Windurst, we would probably meet again. Then she left but I just stood there for almost the rest of the day, thinking. I'll have to ask her some questions. I know my mind won't be at peace before I know. Could Semih really be related to me...? And if she was, why didn't she say anything? Why did she leave me to San d'Oria instead of bringing me to Windurst?

Or did my mind just play games with me? Some could say I'd just imagined everything and that the flashback was brought up by the memory-erasing process, but... I'm not sure about anything anymore. But there's gotta be more we share than just our hair-colour. I can feel it.

[Kyrial Arthian]

Another interesting entry, Lanih. ^^ Gotta love that Semih Lafihna. Well, except for the fact that she doesn't seem to like Ajido-Marujido... *grumble* Erm, anyway...

I do have a question, though. Were those cutscenes with Semih in Port from switching your allegiance to Windurst? Okay, that's probably a stupid question, 'cause where else could they come from? It's just kinda interesting, 'cause it seems like Square Enix made cutscenes for every possible way for someone to start in a country. When I started as a Mithra in Windurst (as Kyrie), I got a cutscene in Woods with Nanaa Mihgo and the Star Onion Brigade. When I started as a Tarutaru in Windurst (as my mule, Jurinrin), I got a cutscene in Waters with Ajido-Marujido and his sister, Apururu. I can't help wondering whether the scene you saw is shown for anyone who switches to Windurst, or if it's just for Mithra (I'll have to ask my Galka friend, Veteran, who switched to Windy from Bastok). And I'd assume there are similar cutscenes for people of all races in every nation. Gotta love Square Enix for all these little intricacies. ^^

[Lanih]

Originally posted by Kyrial Arthian
Another interesting entry, Lanih. ^^ Gotta love that Semih Lafihna. Well, except for the fact that she doesn't seem to like Ajido-Marujido... *grumble* Erm, anyway...

I do have a question, though. Were those cutscenes with Semih in Port from switching your allegiance to Windurst? Okay, that's probably a stupid question, 'cause where else could they come from? It's just kinda interesting, 'cause it seems like Square Enix made cutscenes for every possible way for someone to start in a country. When I started as a Mithra in Windurst (as Kyrie), I got a cutscene in Woods with Nanaa Mihgo and the Star Onion Brigade. When I started as a Tarutaru in Windurst (as my mule, Jurinrin), I got a cutscene in Waters with Ajido-Marujido and his sister, Apururu. I can't help wondering whether the scene you saw is shown for anyone who switches to Windurst, or if it's just for Mithra (I'll have to ask my Galka friend, Veteran, who switched to Windy from Bastok). And I'd assume there are similar cutscenes for people of all races in every nation. Gotta love Square Enix for all these little intricacies. ^^

(OOC: Well, I've seen all of those cutscenes, since I've started over a couple of times already in the past ^^; And I strongly think they're random. The last time I changed my allegiance from Sandy to Windurst, I got the scene with Nanaa Mihgo. Now I got Semih [I was hoping like mad that I'd get Semih, cause I needed it for the story and imagine how happy I was when I got it xD]. So yeah, I think they're all random.)

[Lanih]

(OOC: Uhh... I'm really sorry but it seems to be hard for me to remember Clipper, so I don't have any interesting pics for this entry T_T;)

Since my last entry, I've been running between Windurst and Valkurm a lot. And as you know; you'll see all kinds of interesting things when you travel a lot. Here's a few miscellaneous pictures from the past few days.

Hehe, I think this one's quite funny ^_^ I would've gotten a new haircut if I'd moved one bit. After couching and carefully asking the mister to take his scythe off from my head, he kindly moved a bit and said he's sorry xD

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/018.jpg

I spent many long hours - even days, sometimes - looking for a group I could join. I almost lost hope there, but eventually got myself to lv15 ^^ After that it's been a bit easier. (Did I really say 'bit'? xD)

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/019.jpg

We went to Konschtat Highlands with one group, but the place freaked me out for some odd reason. I asked if we could go back to the dunes since we really didn't get any good exp either. Turned out that one of our party-members had planned to do a quest there, without asking us. He really could've asked us if he wanted someone to watch his back.

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/020.jpg

Thank Goddess the dunes are a pretty place, because I think I'm still going to spend a lot of time there.

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/021.jpg


After I reached lv15, I found out that I'm actually pretty good in getting valuable items from enemies, so I decided to do what I usually do when in need of gil; I went to hunt Crawlers. I noticed that it was a lot easier than before, so my money-situation isn't that bad anymore ^^ At some point I started to think... I had totally forgotten about my true reason for adventuring while beating up stuff and collecting money. I headed back to Windurst and decided to do a mission or two. I was kind of too good for the missions, if you can say that, so I had no problems with the goblins in Horutoto. First two missions revolved around Ajido-Marujido (which for some reason I don't particularly like. Something in his attitude really bugs me), his sister Apururu and their goals and duties. Those Ace Cardians were scary. I'm so going to kick their sorry asses someday, if I can. I decided to leave the third mission for a later date because I didn't want to go to Giddeus alone. I've never been there so I think I should take someone who knows the place along. And I'm planning to whoop all yagudo's who make the stupid decision to cross my path there, so I need someone to heal me and back me up.

[Kyrial Arthian]

Nice entry, Lanih, and congrats on lvl 15; I'm sure you love Sneak Attack. ^^ I can't believe you don't like Ajido-Marujido, though. ;_; I'm practically in love with him. XD But I think that's cause you haven't seen much of him. Just wait 'til he saves your life a few times. ;) He's a great guy, and his only goal is the safety of Windurst, dispite what Semih Lafihna seems to think. :o

[Lanih]

(OOC: Yeah, that's probably it. Lanih is still new to Windurst and she doesn't really know what to think and who to trust, especially with her weird dreams and flashbacks. She is kind of confused but all will become a lot clearer soon enough ;)

Another entry filled with blabber and no pics. Just because I feel like writing now.)

I got to lv17 yesterday (thanks to the neatest trick I've learned so far: Sneak Attack! ^^) and headed back to Windurst to see if I could buy some new equipment. I bought he whole Bone-set and I must say i'm finally starting to look like I can actually do something in battle xD Then I visited Nanaa Mihgo and threw her the Yagudo Necklaces I had in my bag. I'd rather rival her than act like a groupie, but I have no choice for now. I've heard that I kinda need to be nice to her if I wanna become a ninja someday. And that leads to the main point of this entry; You see, i've always wanted to be a ninja. The skills are way cool and I love the dual weapons. But yesterday, I was walking in the part where I don't usually walk when I'm in the Woods. I suddenly felt a strange something in the air there and after a while I noticed I'd come to the house of Perih Vashai, the mithran chieftainness. I almost fell down because I was so embarrassed that I'd stumbled into her presence with no manners at all, but she just smiled at me even though she had her eyes closed and I didn't say anything. I heard her voice in my head. She told me about the mithra and their traditions as a tribe of hunters (I didn't know everything because after all, I did lose my memory) and that she'd like to let Semih Lafihna take her place when the time comes but Semih seemed to be unhappy about that. She said that really skilled rangers are starting to be a rare sight and asked me to rethink my future. Still, after talking a while about the job of a ranger, she said I should choose with my heart. I saluted her and was already leaving when she said: 'It is good to see you here, Lanih. I was a bit worried.' Then everything was quiet again. I walked back to my mog house and decided to leave the thinking for the next day.

When I woke up, I was confused. I didn't know why Perih talked to me like that. I surely wasn't the only (and certainly not the strongest) mithra adventurer around. I didn't want to think about my future job anymore, so I thought it'd be best to just concentrate on training and rethink everything when I'm strong enough.

[Charity]

I love this journal! Yours is so unique with the story, the plot, the twists, and just sooo much more! I love it keep going plz :D:D:D:D

[Lanih]

OOC: Well I finally have a real entry, with pictures, coming up soon xD I'll try and get it up tomorrow. I made it to Jeuno alive but I was so terrified for the whole trip that I forgot to take pictures, but I have some really nice pics of Jeuno and Ru'Lude Gardens (which I by the way love oh-so-much) ^_^

[In the Shadows]

Very nice it seems that me and you have choosen the same path as far as job classes

[Kyrial Arthian]

I know how you feel; I've got so much to update now too (I got rank 4 and did the RNG, SMN, and DRK quests). :sweat: Anyway, I can't wait to see what Lanih thinks of Jeuno! ^^ This is my favorite journal on the site. :)

[Lanih]

(OOC: Ohw... seems like I managed to lose half of the new pics I had x_x Daaamn... Well, I'll be posting a random pic-post in the near future so I'll retake some of those and post them there then.)

I spent quite the many days in Valkurm, doing nothing else but training. Sometimes it was really hard, because I couldn't get a group and I was really bored, but I had promised myself I wouldn't leave until I could go straight to Jeuno. I wanted to go there because I heard you could get a chocobo-license there. And of course I wanted to see the city everyone's talking about :)

I was really scared when I started my trip. I couldn't get anyone to escort me, so I had to do it on my own. Tahrongi was a piece of cake, and I didn't have any problems in Meriphataud either, but when I arrived to Sauromugue Champaign.. The weird monsters just freaked me out. I just... totally lost it and went to sit as near to the exit to Meriphataud as I could and tried to get myself together. I don't remember ever being so scared of dying than then. I checked my map and I felt really hopeless because the journey was long. After a few hours it was midday and I realized I'd have to start running soon if I wanted to get to Jeuno before nightfall. So I left. I was in a freaky trance-like state when I ran. I didn't stop even once, I couldn't even look at my map so I just followed the road. Finally I saw a huge gate-like thing and sighed in relief, but a yagudo saw me just before I got out and beat half of my HP down >_< Thank Goddess I managed to run to the bridge and into the city in time. I grinned to the stupid yagudo when I was safe behind the gates and I think I don't wanna run into the same yagudo again xD;

Jeuno sure is the most beautiful city ever. I thought Windurst was, but Jeuno is actually really cozy. I was really tired when I arrived so I just found my way to the residential area and went to sleep. I spent the next couple of days just walking around and exploring Jeuno. Ru'Lude Gardens sure is a pretty place.

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/022.jpg

Eventually I found the chocobo stables and asked about the chocobo-license. Well, I thought I'd just need to fill an application or something, but there was this one chocobo whose former master had treated him badly and my job was try try and make him eat something again. Day after day, I tried to get the poor chocobo to eat, and slowly but surely the chocobo started to show signs of recovery.

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/023.jpg

I got him to eat on the third day, and a few days after that the owner of the chocobo stable, Brutus came to me
and gave me a license. He even said that I could read animals' minds and that I might make a good beastmaster someday. I'd never thought about such a job before, but now I might just try it someday. (My mind is set to
become a ninja for now, and when I'm strong enough to not let Perih Vashai down, I will start training as a ranger.)

After getting my license, I wanted to go do some sightseeing. Here's a few pictures from my travels.

Here's the huge spine that lies in Meriphataud Mountains. It really makes me wonder... Who made all these bone-ish structures that can be found all around Vana'diel?

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/024.jpg

This is the lighthouse in Buburimu Peninsula. I finally got to see it now that I didn't have to worry about the monsters anymore ^^

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/025.jpg

This is a random scenery pic taken near Mighoyo Dunes in Buburimu. I think this is one of the best pictures I've ever taken. (OOC: I use this as my wallpaper now. Just send me a PM if you want the larger version ^^)

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/026.jpg

And this is just a pic of me in my bone harness ^^

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/027.jpg

[Kyrial Arthian]

Nice entry again, Lanih. ^^ Especially with Sauromugue Champaign; that place is still scary for me, and I'm 10 levels higher than you. XD And interesting question about the bone-like structures. I already know, but that's because I'm a spoiler whore and looked at Faluzure's shots from the Zilart missions he's done. :sweat: Anyway, can't wait to see more~ (maybe some of missions? ;))

[Solid Gear X]

Good journal I'd say...

[Lanih]

(OOC: A peek into Lanih's head xD)

Even though it might not seem like it, I've used a lot of time thinking about Perih and the things she said to me. (OOC: Look at the all-text entry a page back in case you missed it.) I'd love to follow her teachings and train as a ranger, but I'm afraid. I'm afraid I'm not strong enough, and only cause shame to her instead of being what she wants me to be. I've seen the power of mithran rangers and I doubt I could become something so strong. So I decided to follow my dream and become a ninja. I will hopefully become a ranger, too, someday, but for now my mind and body are way too weak for that. There's another thing, too... I don't dare to call myself a ranger because of the huge pressure that would be put upon me; I've heard the people. When walking in the city, I hear the elder people talking about the 'lost child ' and the 'challenger'. And when I come near enough, everything is quiet again. I think I know what they're talking about but I don't want to think about it. I have enough problems already. It really makes me paranoid when no-one is willing to tell me face to face what's going on.

Every time I seem to figure something out, everything just comes more confusing.

[Lanih]

(OOC: I got so hooked on writing Lanih's story last night that I just had to add another fragment, just to make things even more complicated ^_^ Poor Lanih is going to get crazy soon if this keeps on xD)

Last night when I was walking back to my mog house, I felt like someone was following me. And indeed, after spending a while in my house, I heard a little knock from the door. Imagine my surprise as I recognized the character who stood in my doorstep, hooded in cloth. It was who else than Semih Lafihna. She quickly told me that I shouldn't abandon Perih's wishes so lightly, and that things were meant to be this way. Semih didn't really look like the arrogant Sibyl Guard so many people knew her as. I asked if she could tell me if we're related but she just said it'd be better if I'd just forget all that and concentrate on the future. She said I should look for a continent known as Elshimo and that I'd find answers there if I really wanted to know. Then she gave me a bow and said: 'You don't need to become a ranger, you were borrrn to be one. That's your advantage overrr me. But I have to hurry now... I never came here and we neverrr talked. Farewell.' Then she left. Once again I'd let her go without telling me anything, but at least she left me a clue. But she also left me with something that seems like a responsibility. I so wish I'd know more.

[Lanih]

(OOC: Yeah, okay, I haven't done anything during the past week because I kinda have a thing called life that keeps bothering my playing ;), but this is my last schoolweek and after that it's summervac and I'll have more time.

I'm planning to take Lanih to around lv30 soon, and I really have to start doing some missions, too, so the next update will probably be pretty big.)

[In the Shadows]

Looking foward to It Lanih , im lvl29 and less then 1k from lvl 30 and so im going for Ranger today and I plan on writing a journal starting from there , hopefull it becomes as great as yours

[Fingolfin]

Nice jornal! Keep it up.
btw your signature is my favourite FF quote :spin:

[hamiko]

WOW, awsomb journal. This and Kyrial Arthian's the best ones Ive read, keep up the good work guys :D!!

[Rosiel]

Lanih wasn't on for more than a month already, I wonder what's happening to her? She just completely disappeared. Our LS members miss her a lot, she is actually the Windurstian leader of my LS. I wish we can see her back on soon, so she can continue this nice journal

[Lanih]

(OOC: I'm so sorry if I got someone worried; my mom just dragged me to our summer cottage one day and said I need a break from my comp xD; Came back a couple of days ago and I just forgot all this journaling-stuff ^^; I've only been leveling, so you didn't really miss anything. I'll try and get this thing going again soon! ^^)

[Kyrial Arthian]

Nice to see ya back, Lanih. ^^ I was wondering what happened to ya, too. Glad to see everything's all right. Can't wait for the next update. ^_^

[Mercuti0]

Welcome Back Lanih glad to see nothing bad happen to you

[hamiko]

Welcomback, nice to see ya back.

[Lanih]

(OOC: Thanks, everyone! ^_^ It really gives my inspiration a boost to see that people are actually reading my stuff and maybe even liking it ^_~ While you wait for the new entry, which should probably be up in the next few days, here's a pic of Lanih as a WHM. IMO, a mithra casting WHM-spells is one of the cutest things in FFXI ^_^)

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/028.jpg

[TTBM]

Cute, but not as cute as a tarutaru in full dragoon af <3... Can't wait for next entry ^_^! Keep it up :thumbsup:

~TTBM

[Charity]

Originally posted by Lanih
(OOC: Thanks, everyone! ^_^ It really gives my inspiration a boost to see that people are actually reading my stuff and maybe even liking it ^_~ While you wait for the new entry, which should probably be up in the next few days, here's a pic of Lanih as a WHM. IMO, a mithra casting WHM-spells is one of the cutest things in FFXI ^_^)

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/028.jpg


I agree! ^_^

[toxic]

great journal lanih!

i love the way how u create ur story with the little info u get/give about ur past.

keep at it please :)

[Lanih]

With Semih's strange visit and Perih's words in mind, I continued my training. I was in Qufim all the time. I barely slept. Mithkabobs kept me going almost 24/7. The people I trained with told me about a village called Kazham. Beyond would be the next good training ground for people with skills like ours. The name rang a bell, though I couldn't be sure what for. Then, when I found out it's a mithra-village, I started to think that maybe I would finally find some answers there. I asked if it was in a continent known as Elshimo, and indeed it was. I was getting really excited then, but I found out the only way there is to get a Kazham airship-pass. And when I heard I needed to go deep into the beastmen strongholds, I started to get kind of afraid. Yes, I wanted to see Kazham really bad and yes, I want to get stronger but... I was just afraid to do it. So I went back to Windurst for the longest time and started doing things like fishing and cooking. I also planted seeds to my flowerpot and went harvesting to West Sarutabaruta. Days flew by very quickly. But during nights, I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about Kazham, the choice I have to make pretty soon after I reach the village and the possible things I would find out when I go there.

The more I thought about it, the more clear my decision became. I'd start working on the Kazham-pass as soon as my Moogle would take his vacation. And when I would be strong enough, I'd follow my childhood dream and choose the path of a ninja. I'm pretty sure that the things that would come to me if I chose to become a ranger would be too heavy on my shoulders, so I'll have to make Perih wait. I have nothing against her, but I'm just not strong enough. Physically maybe quite close, but mentally.. definitely no.

(OOC: I'm going to become a NIN/THF and when I feel like it, RNG/NIN :P It's gonna mean a lot of harvesting, but I hear it's worth it ^_~

I'll try and remember to turn Clipper on the next time I play. I think you'll probably see pics of the key-hunt and maybe Kazham. We'll see about that later ^^)

[Kagi]

In FFXI, ninjas are usually used as tanks, so almost all ninjas sub war for provoke. ^^;

Anyway, nice journal!

[Lanih]

Originally posted by Kagi
In FFXI, ninjas are usually used as tanks, so almost all ninjas sub war for provoke. ^^;

Anyway, nice journal!

Yeah, I know. That's why I'm leveling WAR now. Just in case I won't get into parties with NIN/THF ^^ Don't like tanking that much though, I'm more like a puller-person xD; Ninjas just are so cool ^^

Thanks for commenting! ^^ I gotta go back to entertain my guests. Damn birthday messes up my precious playing-time ;)

[Mercuti0]

im pretty sure you'll love ninja when you find a job you love you find a way to make it work no matter what the cost...


BTW Kagi saw you on Midgard somewhere not sure if If it was in Jeuno...:thumbsup:

[Lanih]

(OOC: Ohw... For some reason, no one is willing to help me with getting the Kazham-pass keys >_< And Rosiel, who promised to help me is moving to a new apartment, so... You have no idea how annoying it is to hear 'You can solo them at lv25!' over and over again every time I /shout for help [very politely]. Yeah, right, maybe I could solo ONE of them as a THF, but there's no way I can handle links <_< Besides, I don't even know what mobs to fight. Hell, I've never even visited Palborough and I don't know much about Giddeus and Ghelsba either. So yeah, I'm frustrated and depressed and I want to be a NIN so bad o________o

Doing my best to keep my sanity here.)

[ibroyles]

I had this same problem with Kazham keys, Lanih. I would suggest you search for people in all 3 area where you need the key, and if there's any people around LV25, they are probalby doing the same thing as you. You'd be surprised how easy people will want to join with you since you're a THF. One WAR even waited in Giddeus for me for around an hour(fighting the whole time and never getting a key), and when I finally got there we got keys for both of us within an hour.

[Kyrial Arthian]

Ah, I wish you were on my server Lanih. You'd have had your keys in one night. ;) I'm always helping people get them. ^^

If it helps any, Yagudo Priests, Votarys, and Theologists drop the Giddeus one, Orcish Fighters, Serjeants, and Cursemakers drop the Ghelsba one (Yughott Grotto is the easiest place to find these; I just got one tonight when I got aggroed by an Easy Prey Fighter :sweat: ), and Old, Copper, and Brass Quadavs drop the Palborough one. The Yagudos are found in the farthest south part of Giddeus, the Orcs can be found in the upper half of Yughott Grotto (to get to Yughott Grotto, look closely at the map: there's a path leading into it right near the entrance to Ghelsba Outpost that you can barely see), as well as in Fort Ghelsba (which is where Yughott Grotto leads you to), and the Quadavs can be found on the third floor of the mines (that place is a damn maze >_>), just north of the big burn mark on the map that represents Waughroon Shrine, the site of Palborough Mines' Burning Circle.

Anyway, THF/NIN is fun. ^^ I just got NIN to 17 recently (really gotta update my sig), and lemme tell you: THF is great as a sub for NIN when you're soloing, but when PTing, use WAR. You need Provoke. I soloed NIN to lvl 12; I started PTing after that because I had Utsusemi: Ichi. You'll wanna get the Tonko and Utsusemi quests done ASAP, so you might wanna work on raising your Tenshodo fame now. I suggest doing the zinc ore quest in Bastok; it's faster than the Yagudo Necklace quest with Nanaa Mihgo. When Rice Balls sell for 156 gil or less in Neptune's Spire in Lower Jeuno, you know you have enough fame for the quests. I can't tell you how many times Utsusemi: Ichi has saved my life as a THF: it is quite possibly the most useful non-curative spell in the game, and is totally worth the price of the tools needed to cast it.

But I'm rambling now. :sweat: If you have any questions though, feel free to ask me in a PM or something. ^^

[Lanih]

(OOC: Thanks for the nice info, people ^^

I've been leveling my WAR, but it's just sooo boring because all they do is hack and slash o.x But that'll probably get a bit more interesting when I get it to lv20 and sub NIN xD

And about not being on your server, Kyrie, I'm actually thinking about getting my second character on Quetz, just for a change ^^ At least I could take a pic of me and my idol ^_~ Plus, my cousin is getting the game in the next couple of weeks so that would be a good enough reason for me to change servers if he 'happened' to pop up in Quetz xD But we'll see about that. ^^)

[Kyrial Arthian]

Originally posted by Lanih
And about not being on your server, Kyrie, I'm actually thinking about getting my second character on Quetz, just for a change ^^ At least I could take a pic of me and my idol ^_~ Plus, my cousin is getting the game in the next couple of weeks so that would be a good enough reason for me to change servers if he 'happened' to pop up in Quetz xD But we'll see about that. ^^
*blushes at the realization that she's someone's idol* If you ever need a World Pass, feel free to ask. ^^

[Lanih]

(OOC: Yeah, it's true ^^ I'll come say hello to you someday ^_^

Good news: I've got all the keys now, thanks to Rosiel who came back just in time before I lost it xD So I'm going to go check out Kazham as soon as I get this written. I'll be taking pictures and writing the new entry tonight, so I think I'll get it posted if not tonight then tomorrow.)

[Lanih]

So, I needed some keys to get the airship pass for Kazham. Rosiel was the most kind [like he always is] and helped me get them. All I really did was sit somewhere safe and cheer him up while he slaughtered all those beastmen ^^; He must've sensed that I don't like dungeons and saved me from going there just yet. I know I have to conquer my fear someday, but not now.

After I got the keys, I took a bird to Jeuno and Goddess, I've never had as lazy and slow chocobo than the one I had then xD When I finally reached Jeuno, I ran straight to the galka who had given me the quest for the keys. He examined them, proved them to be authentic and gave me the pass. I walked through the door to the pier and I was sooo excited that I accidentally dropped a few gils into the water while jumping up and down ^^ When the airship came, I was the first one to run inside. I couldn't settle down while I was there, I kept bugging the captain but he just laughed 'Young adventurers are always like that on their first trip to the mithran village.' That got me thinking again. Who would I meet there? What could I possibly know when I come back? The airship got off and there goes my thinking. I ran to the deck and kept running from the other side to the other. It was so beautiful! I saw the Crag in Tahrongi and even the Great Star Tree! ^^

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/029.jpg

When we reached Kazham, I suddenly couldn't speak anymore.

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/030.jpg

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/031.jpg

The athmosphere and the looks of the place were just stunning. I walked around in the village, tried to memorize as much as I could. I tried to talk to the mithra there, but all seemed to be a bit... grumpy. I asked about this from an older mithra and she said it's the mithra tradition. 'To be grumpy towarrrds adventurers?' I asked. 'No. To be grrrumpy towarrrds the ones who left the village. Once you leave, you arrre not welcomed back.' That totally struck me down. While I was speechless, a young mithra ran to us. 'Oh my Goddess, is it rrreally you, Lanlan? I can't believe you'rrre herrre! We all thought you died! Tell me everrrything!' I could tell that the girl really knew me, but I couldn't remember who she was. Can't recall anyone ever calling me Lanlan xD 'Come ooon, it's me, Nhae!' I mumbled something about my lost memory and she seemed a bit disappointed, but promised to tell me all she knew about me. We went to the dock and sat down. I decided that I'd let her tell everything and ask questions later. This is why I got a bit confused every once in a while. Anyways... Nhae told me that I was indeed born and raised in Kazham, until one day when beastmen just suddenly blew up my house, which was on the rear of the village so not many even noticed that until later. Luckily me, my sister and my mom were fishing then [this probably explains my passion towards fishing] so nothing happened. Not knowing about what had happened, my mom sent me to go and get some more bait from our house. I saw the ruins, and went to look closer, only to be ambushed by a small group of beastmen. They hit me hard to my head and I went unconscious. After a while, my mom came there and started fighting the beastmen, but she wasn't strong enough to resist them long. She fled and went to get help and soon the beastmen were all sent back to their makers by the strongest fighters of the village. My mom got badly wounded, and they couldn't cure me either, so they decided that there was no choice but to send us both to the mainland to get properly healed. But we never came back so everyone thought we died. That was all Nhae was able to tell me. I was staring at the ocean and thinking about the questions that got answers and the ones that didn't. After a while Nhae asked me if I really didn't remember her. I said I'm sorry and that I had no idea who she could possibly be. '...I'm your little sisterrr, Lanlan.' And that's when the girl totally crumbled and started crying her eyes out, head on my shoulder. I felt really bad. How could I not remember her? >_< I told her I'm really sorry, but she just said 'It's okay... You got badly hit and besides, I'm just glad that you'rrre alive.' We sat there for a while, just watching the night fall and listening to the birds in the jungle. Suddenly I realized Nhae had fallen asleep. I asked someone to look after her, and went to the airship dock. I needed to get out and clear my thoughts. I left Nhae a message where I told her I was sorry about leaving so soon, but that I would be back soon and we could talk more then. The sun was already rising when the airship took off.

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/032.jpg

When the airship reached Jeuno, I went to my Moghouse and fell asleep. I woke up after a couple of hours, because all the new questions were bothering my sleep. What happened to my mother? How bad did Nhae feel when she finally found the last remains of ther family, just to be left unrecognized? Damn, she must've felt so bad... And where does Semih come in? I couldn't sleep anymore.

(OOC: Just a random note: Yuhtunga Jungle is a total hell! The place is pretty and all, but it's so crowded and someone zones a gob every two minutes which makes getting EXP really a hard thing to do <_< The EXP is nice if you stay alive to get it, though. I wish I was lv30 already xP)

[Kyrial Arthian]

Wow, you just continue to top yourself, Lanlan. ^_~ I love that entry! ^^ *feels her journal to be totally inferior*

[Angelhelix]

Oh. amazing entries.:)

[TheSecretNinja]

Very nice entries. I've been reading your journal since you started it and it's been amazing. Excellent pictures too. Keep up the good work!:thumbsup:

[Lanih]

(OOC: Sorry I haven't updated ina while, I was on my summer cottage for a week ^^; I really thought I remembered to leave a note of my trip to all the important places but seems like I forgot one. I did leave kinda in a hurry.

Anyways, I'll try and get an entry up for you in the near future ^^)

[Lanih]

(OOC: Ohh, goddammit... I was supposed to get to lv30 today, get NIN, take screens and write some heavy twists as Lan changes her job, but... I only got ONE party during the whole day and those people were a bunch of retards. So I got ~70exp today, which means I'm still 1.2k away from lv29. I still have a couple of hours until I gotta go to sleep, but I doubt I can get to 30 today.

I hope I'll have better PT-luck tomorrow, I feel so bad about neglecting the journal ;_;

[And before anyone mentions it... I know I should lvl my sub, but it just seems so pointless cause I'm gonna dump my MNK anyways when I get to lv30]

EDIT a couple of hours later:

Managed to get a PT ^^ I'm 4k away from 30 now, so I'll most likely get something done tomorrow ;) )

[Kyrial Arthian]

Good luck with getting level 30 and the NIN quest, Lanih. ^^ I haven't been having such good luck finding PTs lately either. :/ I finally started actually leveling THF again, but lately I haven't been able to get any invites! (actually, I get a ton when I'm already busy helping someone or am otherwise unable to PT >_>) I've taken up woodworking in the meantime, since I wanna start being able to craft my own shihei for the Utsusemi: Ichi spell. Anyway, I can't wait for the next entry! :)

[Lanih]

(OOC: I got to PT with JP-people today and I must say it was the best PT I've ever been in so far. They knew what they were doing, didn't mess up my SA and damn the EXP was good ^^

Got to lv30, did the NIN-quest with the help of always-so-kind Rosiel and I've been leveling a tiny bit already, too. As you might've guessed by now, I forgot to turn Clipper on once again >_<; Norg was so cool, but I was so excited that I didn't realize to logout for a few seconds and put the damn program on.

Anyways, another story-fragment coming up tomorrow, with some newbie-nin pics ^^)

[Tibiam]

Congratulations Lanih on getting Ninja. I hope you like it. I've got my Ninja up to lvl10 but blah! Went back to BLM.. ^_^

Have fun!

[hamiko]

yet another great entry, great work lanih, keep em coming!

[Lanih]

(OOC: A lot of stuff that I have to write into the story has been happening in the last few days [both fortunate and unfortunate... our LS dispersed because there was too much tension between some members... On a lighter note, Lanih has made some good friends ;) ], but I'm just so excited about NIN I can't write all that down just yet xD Patience, please ^^; I'm posting a couple of pics for you to oogle at while I try and get something written xD)

Here's a RDM who followed me around through the early levels and kept me alive. I took him under my wing and decided to do anything I can to help. (OOC: He's my RL-cousin ^^)

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/033.jpg

And some random battle-shots of me trying to learn how to use a katana ^^;

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/034.jpg

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/035.jpg

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/036.jpg

(OOC: When I log on tomorrow, I'm gonna spend some serious time fishing; I need money cause I don't really feel like running around in Sea Serpent Grotto just yet ^^, Yes, I'm actually gonna buy my Utsusemi: Ichi. I can do the quest later and get my money back then. Plus, I get around 20k per trip from my precious fishing hole so it's not such a big deal anymore :) )

[Kyrial Arthian]

o_O Wow.... I can't imagine trying to buy Utsusemi. >_<;; The quest is so easy, Lanlan! Just switch to a level 1 job and get yourself a stack of Silent Oil and some directions, and it's a cake walk!

[Lanih]

(OOC: Yeaaaah, I know xD But I'm almost there already, thanks to the goldmine that is fishing :) I'll go to Norg to take some screenshots soon so I might do it then, though, but not right now cause I need a break from the goddamned Yuhtunga Jungle xP You won't believe how many times I died there just because I got lost and my choco fainted. I'm starting to learn the ways around little by little though.)

[Kyrial Arthian]

Hehe, I can make it to Yhoator Jungle easy as pie, but finding my way out is always a challenge. XD I don't have any problems getting to Norg, even though I get lost everytime. :sweat: I just head as south as I can until I get to the outpost. XD

[Lanih]

(OOC: Yeah, getting back from Yhoator is a pain, indeed xD I marked the hole near the outpost where I have to drop down to get to Norg so hopefully it won't take too long to get there ^^)

[Lanih]

(OOC: Sorry about the possible typo's, I'm a bit tired ^^; )

One night after a hard day filled with training in Yhoator Jungle, I decided it was time for me to follow my chosen path. I wanted to become a ninja. I got some advice from other ninjas, they told me to go to Bastok and talk to a couple of people there. After a bit of running around, I found out that a man named Ensetsu had given something to the Tenshodo and now he wants it back. But the man who Ensetsu gave the item - Kagetora - refuses to give it back unless Ensetsu gives him some rare coral from Korroloka. I couldn't let Ensetsu go alone, he's a father of two children, so I offered to do the task. Rosiel came with me, cause I sensed it wouldn't just be a short walk in the park. I had never been in Korroloka befoore, either. So we ran through Korroloca and arrived in a little room which had the strange coral. But as I had suspected, three Korroloca Leeches popped behind me as soon as I touched the coral! I almost got killed so Rosiel told me to stand back. He fought bravely against all the three leeches, but got killed :/ Luckily, there was a high-lv PT nearby (OOC: all japanese, but I'm pretty good at communicating with them already xD) and they offered to help. They killed the leeches with only a couple of blows and told me to touch the coral. Nothing happened. They said we need to wait for the leeches to pop out again. I didn't like the idea of staying in the little room any longer, but since the others were quite experienced, I decided to just do what I'm told (Rare thing, haha xD). After a while, I touched the coral again and TA-DAHH, there were the leeches again. I ran behind the high-lv people and they took the leeches out as quickly as before. I touched the coral and obtained the strangely shaped coral ^^ The mage used the Escape-spell so we didn't have to walk back.

I took the coral to Kagetora, but he said the item was already shipped to Norg. I told this to Ensetsu and he asked me to go and get it for him. And of course, I accepted. I took a choco to Jeuno, jumped in the Kaz-airship and waited for Rosiel there. After he came, we rented choco's from Kazham and started finding our way to the very interesting place known as Norg. Rosiel had some markings in his map so it didn't take long to get to the Sea Serpent Grotto. We dismounted our choco's there and Rosiel casted Sneak on us. After that we could just saunter to Norg without any problems ^^ When we arrived there, I got immediately seduced by the athmosphere. And I was very surprised that it felt even more homely than Kazham. I looked around for a while and talked to a lot of people. I noticed there were katana's for sale so I realized I would have to come here every once in a while. Rosiel told me I could also buy katana's from the Tenshodo H.Q in Jeuno. Eventually I saw the man I was supposed to take the coral to, Ryoma, at the dock. I talked to him and he gave me a sealed blade. To tell you the truth, I tried unsheathing it but I couldn't do it xD;

I headed back to Bastok. Rosiel said he would stay in Norg for a while so I waved goodbye and went outside with my lv1 BLM and got myself deathwarped back to Jeuno. I rode a choco to Bastok, gave the selaed dagger to Ensetsu and witnessed a touching scene with Ensetsu and his daughters. Ensetsu gave me his wife's old ninjutsu-scrolls as a thanks, and you won't believe how happy I was ^^ I rode back to Windurst, changed my job to ninja and started rampaging around Sarutabaruta like mad xD

After a few days of training, I decided to try and wield two katanas, cause I heard ninjas could do that. After a couple of fights I felt that I was pretty good doing it. I headed out more and more, further away from Windurst. Night fell and I decided to sleep near the Zanbibi river. During the night, three Yagudo's attacked me. I would've handled them one by one, but not three at a time. I panicked and started running, leaving my new katanas to the riverbank. I ran up to a cliff and the Yagudo's were so far I cold rest for a while. I cursed myself for leaving the katanas.. What kind of ninja am I, really? Leaving my weapons behind like that... After a minute or so, I noticed the Yagudo's were almost there. I remembered the bow Semih gave me long time ago, took it out from my gobbiebag and aimed... One of the Yagudo's went down with a single hit but I missed the two and they started running like mad towards me. Then, suddenly, two arrows flew right by me and overkilled the Yagudo's. 'It is time. You have kept Perih waiting for too long alrrready.' Semih Lafihna said. She gave me my katanas and walked away. I was still in shock so it took me a while to understand what had happened. I decided to do what Semih told me. I felt something moving inside me at the mere mention of rangers, so you have to imagine what great impact it was to see those Yagudo's go down like that.

A bit before sunrise, I made my way through Sarutabaruta back to Windurst. I went to see Perih Vashai. She gave me a riddle-like description about becoming a ranger, and I got some clearer information from the other mithra's. I rode a chocobo to Sauromugue Champaign, found a cave of the Sabertooth Tigers and noticed there was an old Sabertooth, just about taking his last breaths. I watched it die naturally, dismounted my chocobo, examined the tiger bones at the back of the cave and insta-warped back to Windurst. Perih was very happy to see me back so quickly. She told me a bit more about mother nature and the code of the rangers. She told me I was now worthy of becoming a ranger myself, and gave me a Ranger's Necklace. After the official ceremony, she asked me to stay a bit longer. 'Your motherrr lost so much because of the beastmen. She wanted you to become strrrong and avenge forrr herrr. She asked me to take carrre of you if anything should happen to herrr, but things went wrrrong and you werrre missing for so many yearrrs. I knew you werrre alive, but everrryone else thought you got killed in the same airrrship crrrash than yourrr motherrr. I knew you'd find yourrr way herrre, soonerrr or laterrr. Your mind is strrrong, you arrre able to combine the two callings that tearrr you aparrrt. Yourrr motherrr was my sisterrr, and I know she would be rrreally prroud of the choice you arrre about to make.' After that Perih opened her eyes, just for a second or two, and I could see a flashback of my mother. The eyes were the very same.

I went back to my moghouse and hanged the necklace to my wall. I couldn't wear it just yet. I needed to become stronger. And I would. I would combine the best of both worlds, the ranger and the ninja. I would do my mother, and Perih, proud. I fell asleep with those things in my mind, and when I woke up I was determined to fulfill the oaths I took upon myself that night.

[Kyrial Arthian]

Nice entry, Lanih. ^^ Are you gonna be doing RNG/NIN eventually? If so, good luck with the money. XD It's a great combo though; just try and get into crafting your own arrows and ninjutsu tools. Much cheaper that way. Luckily, shihei (for Utsusemi) is made with woodworking, just like arrows. ;) I remember one time I had a PT back at lvl 30 with two RNG/NINs, a WAR/NIN, me (THF/NIN), a SMN/WHM, and a BRD/WHM. Thanks to all the Utsusemi, we never once had to heal, and the only "downtime" was when there was nothing else around for us to pull! We were chaining Makaras and Sahagins near the entrance to the tunnel in Yuhtunga Jungle that leads to Sea Serpent Grotto. It's a great alternative to Yhoator Jungle at lvl 30. :) But I digress. Can't wait for another entry, Lanih! ^^

[Lanih]

(OOC: Here are a few random shots of the Utsusemi-quest and Norg, as an apology of not posting pics in the last entry ^^; Forgive me my naked-ness in the first three pics lol xD)

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/037.jpg

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/038.jpg

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/039.jpg

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/040.jpg

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/041.jpg

http://rockshocker.net/ffxi/lanih/042.jpg

[Kyrial Arthian]

Nice pics, Lanih, and congrats on Utsusemi: Ichi! ^^

[Ithaqua]

That last picture has bad ass all over it. The sharp text of an oak room with a pillar beside it and nihongo symbols fly around the text. :P crouching tiger hidden dragon!

[Lanih]

(OOC: Ithaqua: haha, I had something similar on my mind lol xD

Anyways, I have a funny problem now. I can't decide whether I wanna level THF, NIN or RNG o_0 I'm leveling my NIN to lv20 now, but after that I have no idea what I'm gonna do xD Well, maybe I just should level the job I feel like leveling and change when I feel like it.

But right now I'm doing some more of those flag-quests, I really wanna try SMN and DRK :P)

[Ithaqua]

^.- nin to 37 thief to 45 and ranger how ever far you want :P. A level 45 thief makes money np. You are a bad thief if you can't :rolleyes:

[Lanih]

Originally posted by Ithaqua
^.- nin to 37 thief to 45 and ranger how ever far you want :P. A level 45 thief makes money np. You are a bad thief if you can't :rolleyes:

(OOC: Heheh, that's what I thought too, TH2 will be nice :P

I just don't like the idea of going to Valkurm with my lv12 NIN and burning tons of gil cause of bad PT's >_<; Gotta ask my LS if they have some jobs around the same lv that they want to level.)

[Ithaqua]

12-14 dish out the pain of idiots.
14+ korroloka fun with the japanese :p

[mr.aaa]

Cool! You can level in a place besides Dunes at lvl 14:eek: Where is this "Korroloka Tunnel" you speak of? :spin:

[Tibiam]

Bastok Mines > Zeruhn Mines > Korrolokka Tunnel


I can't believe you never been to Korro. Its great for lvling from 15-20. Whenever I lvl another job i go there at 15, after lvling in Shakrami. I HATE DUNES :P

Anyways in Korro, you should just fight the Land Worms. Also whats great about Korro, there are no Gobs and nothing really aggros unless you go farther in and meet up with Jellies..

Also whts funny is when you start to go to Shakrami at lvl 10 or so, you usually fight worms alot, then you go to Korro and fight worms, and then Qufim and guess wat... Fight wroms mostly XD..
Anyways what I am saying is from vls 10-25 basically its Worm killing XD!!

[Kyrial Arthian]

Hehe I prefer Diving Beetles in Sauromugue Champaign instead of worms in Qufim. They're great from 18-22. And there's this nice, isolated spot in the NW part of Sauro where only Beetles spawn, so you're completely safe from aggros from higher-lvl mobs. ^^

[StarRaven]

If you go to Korroloka instead of the Dunes you need to bring a PT with you because it's basically impossible to just go to that place and get an invite. So form a PT with your LS or some friends and go to the tunnel.

[Tibiam]

I've never tried Sauro, but I love Worms, because they have weaker defence. But I hate there GA spells!!!

Do what you want, it doesnt matter

[Lanih]

(OOC: Thanks for the tips ^^!

Anyways, my domain has expired and I don't know how long it'll take for me to get a new one. So until then I have no host for my images. That means they'll be down for now >_< Trying to get my new domain up and running soon though, so patience please ^^; )

[Tibiam]

Photobucket works great for me, unless well you were already using it and it expired.. :D

[Lanih]

I'm sorry but I really think this'll be the end of Lanih's story for now. Things are hectic at school, so I can't play at all during weekdays. Weekends I sleep. The little free time I have I'd rather spend fishing and relaxing than stressing about leveling and doing missions. And that's what I'm going to do for now. I don't have time nor energy to keep this thing updated, plus the updates would be really boring if I just fish. My inspiration is still alive though and I have no plans on forgetting Lanih's story totally. I will continue this someday, when I have more time.

I'll probably post some random pics and updates every now and then but the story will be on hold for now.

And just to throw you something, I actually did a couple of missions and got to rank 3. Not in Windurst though. Bastok. I had this major twist already pre-written but seems like I never have the patience to concentrate on writing instead of playing... But you'd do the same if you had only a couple of hours playtime per week ; ;

Anyways, to clear things up; I'll not be gone forever. I'm just taking a break.

Thanks for your understanding ^^~

(Actually, now that I think of it, it's a good thing to put the story on hold for now, cause I need some time to level certain jobs. Doesn't sound very good if Semih Lafihna's skills are challenged by a lv8 RNG, eh? ;D The scene where Semih and Lanih are finally at the same point will come eventually... but I can't stretch the story much longer anymore, so I better jam it for a while :P I still have an ending-kind of thing to this first part of Lanih's story and I will post it later on today.)

[Angelhelix]

Ok. Good luck with school work.:)

[Lanih]

I went to see the guards at the Windurst Woods gate to accept a mission, but they said Semih had requested me to see her before that. In other words, they wouldn't give me a mission until I'd talked with her. I went to Walls, hoping to run into Semih and as I had suspected, she was waiting for me near Yoran-Oran's house. We walked around Walls and talked. 'Your newfound interrrest in doing missions for ourrr beautiful federation is giving me a headache...' Semih seemed to be wanting to talk seriously now, so I just decided to listen what she had to say. 'Windurrrst is about to enter a conflict farrr beyond your powers. I don't want you to get involved with this just yet, you need some serious trrraining before that.' She seemed a bit nervous. 'What I'm trrrying to say is... You need to get out of here. Out of Windurrrst.' I was pretty shocked. I had always thought Semih would want me to stay. I thought I'd be the one to... 'No. You're too weak forrr that. Did you really think you would be able to challenge my skills after a few months of trrraining?' Semih laughed. Not arrogantly, though. I think she was getting pretty relaxed now. After a few minutes of mindless chitchat, she became quiet and nervous again. 'There's one thing you should know... The reason I want you to leave the city is perrrsonal. I... Ehh...' She was getting frustrated and I think I heard her voice cracking a few times when she just blurted the next sentence out. 'Lanih... I prrromised your dying motherrr that I'd take care of you! I was supposed to returrrn to Windurst with you and take you with me to train as a ranger, so that we could prrrotect Windurst together someday... I would treat you as a sister and you'd learn all about the old times, the mithrrra coming to Windurst, the Great War, and your family...' I was pretty shocked now. 'But then you went missing. I searched for you for months, vut there was no trrrace of you whatsoever. I gave up, I thought you got killed. I was really angry to myself for betrrraying yourrr mother... Then, when you suddenly just pop back a few years later... You have to understand I was pretty out of my mind for a while there.' Semih was quiet for a while, giving me some time to think about what I had just heard. The puzzle started to make some sense, finally. There are still holes in it I can't figure out, but it's getting more clear. We went to Woods and I said I'd go to sleep. 'Wait. You obviously missed my point...' Semih was her old, usual, cold self. 'You have to leave Windurrrst, as soon as possible. Forget Windurrrst and go train somewhere else. It's not safe for you here anymore. Come back when you're strrrong enough so I won't have to watch overrr you during combat...' And she walked away. Leaving me speechless, as usual.

According to Semih's story, I'd probably get myself killed if I stayed in Windurst. I didn't know why, though. I think she was still hiding something. Anyways, I decided to leave. I always liked travelling, so I thought it would be no problem to travel around the world for a while. But first, I'd go to Kazham and spend some time with my little sister. Physical training and travelling will come later, now I just need some time to think.

[OOC: As I said, the story ends for now. ^^]

[Lanih]

I'm all NIN nowadays ^^ Still planning to go RNG someday, but I just can't level both of them simultaneously; too expensive :sweat: So I'll lvl NIN to at least 37 before RNG... Though right now I feel like I could go all the way to 75 with NIN xD; I'm really starting to like blinktanking ^^

Here's a pic of teh newbie NIN xD

http://rabanastre.org/img/nyyp.jpg

[Lanih]

I just hit my first bad no-money -period yesterday xP Currently, I have nothing for sale in the AH, and I have no cash. I farmed for Beehive Chips on Zegham Hill [blessed things goo for 4k/stack in Bastok ^_^] and got a little money for helping some Bastokers by doing quests for them. My favourite one is the Soot-collecting in Zeruhn. I get my low-level jobs trained to 8 there if I want and get some nice money while doing that too :) I burned it all for Shihei, lol, so I gotta do it again today ^_^;

You might be wondering what am I doing in Bastok... The thing is, my little sister [You remember Nhae from my first Kazham-visit, right?] wasn't home when I went to see her. Someone told me she had left from the village to Bastok, to train herself to become a warrior. I was pretty shocked when I heard that.. Anyways, I went to Bastok immediately and found her from Zeruhn. She was training there and she told me she's a citizen of Bastok now. I knew she had no choice but to become one since once you leave Kazham to go on an adventure, you're not welcomed back. I could see she tried to look brave but for real she must've felt very lonely there. So I stayed, simple as that (:

Anyways, all of my money goes to the Ninjutsu-tools so I can't help her financially, lol, but she does appreciate my staying. I'm really starting to like Bastok, too. The Tenshodo-branch here makes my life a lot easier, plus I feel homely cause of the other ninja's. And I like Cid :biggrin: He has sent me to do all kinds of stuff already. I'm a Certified Adventurer nowadays, and it's mostly thanks to him and his run-there-and-do-this-and-that missions ^_^

The only place I could ever call home would most likely be Norg. I can feel a strange kind of vibe in the air there, haha. It must sound weird, but... The place smells like home. I remember the smell of saltwater and old barrels from somewhere. I now know I was raised in Kazham, but no-one ever told me where I was born...

[Lanih]

(OOC:

Oookay... I think I better announce this here, too. Lanih is getting retired :/

When I first heard of FFXI, I wanted to be an Elvaan. When I got the game, my first character was an Elvaan. I was a THF then, and something made me delete my char and start again as a Mithra cause I would be a 'better' THF if I was a Mithra. People told me not to change, cause if I choose my race to fit the job I want, things'll get ugly and I'd most likely regret it afterwards. I said 'nah, I'll love THF now and forever !'... But that is just what happened ; ;

After I hit lv30 and discovered the fun in jobs like Dark Knight, Ninja and Paladin, my love for the THF kind of withered away. Meaning, playing as a Mithra didn't feel good anymore.

I've always said to newbie-players that the freedom of choice is one of the greatest things in this game and you should just pick whatever race you want and choose job later... Still I blindly did the mistake of choosing my race after a job myself <_< I have nothing against Mithra's, but... you could say; once an Elvaan, always an Elvaan.

I don't have the heart to delete Lanih entirely, so she'll stay as my mule-character. And if for some reason I want to play as her again someday, she'll be there waiting. But I doubt that time will come anytime soon.

Thanks for everyone who commented on this journal, it was really encouraging to see that my writing-skills haven't gotten too rusty during the last couple of years of not writing anything ^_^; I might start a new journal for my Elvaan, but I'm not so sure if I want to start it right from the beginning... I love to take screenshots though so I might just start one to post screenies and maybe write a couple of sentences... But don't expect anything too epic just yet :)

Again, thank you everyone for your support! ^_^)

/bow
/goodbye

[Lanih]

OK, feels a bit weird to spam my own thread like this, lol, but... I'm in a strange stage with my FFXI now. I don't know if I want to continue playing as Lanih or if I want to start again as an Elvaan. For now, I'm playing as whoever I feel like playing at the moment.

I think I'm too attached to Lanih to give up playing as her, so I might just continue xD Honestly, I don't know what I want to do right now, but I'm sure time will tell ^_^.

[Angelhelix]

Go with your heart.

[Lanih]

Originally posted by Angelhelix
Go with your heart.

In the end, that's just what I did ^_^

My identity-crisis in FFXI is now over. I thought about different options and I even 'started over'... After a few days I realized that, well, I'm Lanih ^^ When playing with the other characters, I always felt like I was exping my mule. It took me a while to realize that a mithra is what I want to be. One of the biggest things I missed when playing as a hume or elvaan was the fact that mithras twitch their ears in the battle :D Such a simple little thing and still it got me thinking again. And now I've done my thinking and decided to follow my heart, which has grown to love the little white-haired mithran marauder :)

I'm re-starting another thing, too; my career as a THF. I read some stuff about lockpicking and coffer/chest-hunting and now I can't wait to be lv50~ to be able to do that [could do it earlier, but at lv50 I can sub a lv25whm so I have sneak/invis ^^] Of course, you can't forget the great fuidama <3 I'm actually just a little bit afraid on how I will succeed in landing my fui's... But I'm counting on the fact that everyone's a little lost when they first go over lv30, because that's when the jobs really start to differ from each other. So I hopefully won't get booted if I mess up fui a couple of times in the beginning ^^;

I've spent the last few days farming and such, since I needed to buy my THF-gear. I'm almost done now, only missing my Federation Knife and Spike Necklace :)

I'll start posting updates again [every once in a while at least]. The story is still on hold because I really wanna concentrate on farming and exping now, so the updates will mostly consist of pictures with some descriptive babble, haha.

So, yeah... happy halloween! ^_^

http://rabanastre.org/lanih/halloween.jpg

[Lanih]

Is it just me or is it always this slow to find a party in Altepa? ; ; I wanted to boost through 30-40 as quickly as possible but seems like this'll take ages to get out of Rabao... (/cry) Only one level so far <_<

http://rabanastre.org/lanih/043.jpg

[Angelhelix]

Welcome Back. ^_^

[Lanih]

Originally posted by Angelhelix
Welcome Back. ^_^

Thanks! ^^ (/bow)



More Altepa-fun today... I reached the point I've been a bit afraid of; Lv33 and Viper Bite.

I was afraid that I can't connect SATA+VB and to be honest I haven't done it succesfull yet ; ; I hit my SATA-macro, engage the mob and start bashing my VB macro like crazy, buuuut I end up hitting the mob once, thus unloading SATA and busting VB after that <_< I've only tried it for like 4 times though, so I guess I was just unlucky. Stressing like hell doesn't make it any easier, lol. I think I should just calm down a bit... If it misses, it misses. Everyone misses sometimes, yes? I just hope I'll learn to do it properly sometime soon :(

Tanks that don't know how to stand still won't help me with this either >< I hope I could get into a good party tomorrow, one where everyone would know what to do and where to stand. It would make my practicing a lot easier. (/sigh)

[Rosiel]

Hey, Lan, didn't see you in the game for a while (I am not on that much nowadays, and I am bored now, but I don't really want to log on, because I am kinda sleepy now)

Some advice on your SATA + VB, you can set 1 macro to do the whole thing, just need to test the delay, and wait time, then you won't need to worry about missing it in the future, let the computer do its work :P

At the early lv30s, many ppl are still haven't realize how nice it is to have a THF in the pt. (consider the dmg, and the drop rate, THF is uber) But it will get better and better, THF is always on my list if I want to pt ;)

[Lanih]

OOC:

Hiya. I don't know why I'm writing this here, but I just feel like getting all of this written down. And since this is my journal I guess I can do this.

I quit the game a couple of weeks before Christmas. The whole thing started to feel so mechanical; exping, exping and more exping. So I quit. I was just about to cancel my account when my cousin said that I shouldn't do it. That I should wait for a month or so and then cancel the account if I'd still be sure about this. So I let it be.

Lots of stuff happened before I quit. I was invited to join the Leviathan-server, because there are a lot of Finnish people there so me and my cousin wouldn't have to play alone anymore [the time differences suck :/]. So we switched servers... I had to delete Lanih because I needed the slot for my new mule on Leviathan. But things weren't the same. I started to grow bored of the game already and starting over didn't really help... The people in Leviathan were nice and all, but... It just didn't feel right. I decided to quit then. Well, after over a month of not playing, my cousin told me that he had switched back to Garuda and asked if I'd wanna come check out his new character. I wasn't too enthusiastic about it, but a couple of weeks later I decided to create a character just to go check on my cousin. I started feeling like playing again, because being new reminded me about all the wonderful things the game has to offer; it's not just exping, it never was. You just can't let yourself forget that, if you wanna keep on playing. Anyways, I started to feel so depressed about deleting Lanih >_<; It didn't matter that much earlier, cause we changed servers so it was inevitable at that time, but now that we were back on Garuda... I have to admit I almost cried >_<; I'd have to start it all over again.

Right now I have this weird love/hate relationship with the game. I love it, all the things it has to offer, all the people I've met and you know. Everything. But it's so depressing to wade through the early levels again. I've started to feel a bit better after I got my cooking back up to lv40'ish.. That's where my original char had it too. I miss my lv37 fishing like crazy ;_; But I think I'll get it back eventually, especially with the new fishing-change. The highest job on the original char was only lv34 THF so it's not that hard for me to get all that back, but all the quests, adventures and memories aren't so easily regained.

I'm starting to get over this. Lanih is a lv18 BLM and a lv9 RDM, I'm planning to take RDM to lv30 and then start working on my WAR, PLD and NIN. Sometimes I just can't bother to play, because it hurts quite a bit to do it all over again, but I know I won't achieve anything by just sulking.

So I'm getting back there, slowly but surely.

I wanted to let this thing out of my chest here, because 99% of the people who read my real journal have no idea how I feel since they don't play FFXI.

I intend to get at least one of my jobs to lv30 before the first anniversary of this journal. It wouldn't be a hard thing to do if my playing-motivation wasn't in healing mode, but right now I don't know how long it'll take for this feeling to go away.

If someone got this far, thanks for reading ^^ You don't need to reply, I'm just glad if someone reads this. Because I'm sure other people have been through this too, more or less the same way, and probably even worse.

[Drawmuh]

XD I did the same exact thing as you did and I seriously quit because I too was feeling the exping grind... but then I came back after a break just to talk and hang out with friends and now I find myself enjoying the game again =)

[Lanih]

Originally posted by Drawmuh
XD I did the same exact thing as you did and I seriously quit because I too was feeling the exping grind... but then I came back after a break just to talk and hang out with friends and now I find myself enjoying the game again =)

Haha, good to hear I'm not the only one ^^!




I've found a new thing to love in this game: I started leveling WHM and I really like it. Even though just today my PT got into a difficult situation that in the end led to two deaths. I felt really bad even though it wasn't on my shoulders alone; I didn't have a backup-healer because we had a PL, but suddenly he had to go Raise and I was left spamming cures with only half of my MP left, and I blew Bene @ Korroloka 1.5h earlier. The PT didn't blame me, but still I feel bad.

I've been reading a lot of stuff about the WHM-pressure and I was glad to realize I'm not the only one who feels this way after a death ^^;

Anyways, I still think the good stuff about WHM overwrites the pressure and the bashings. Makes me feel good to do something useful. I can't wait until I get high enough so I can help others in Valkurm, etc~

[Lanih]

I've been fishing. The new fishing is even more addictive than the old one! ^_^ I wish I still had my lv30+ fishing ;_; Oh well, at least I can make some nice money from Moat Carp leveling to 10 again :3

I've been thinking of becoming a Bard. At least I wanna try it out. On my last char, my Bard was only lv3 so I haven't really tried it yet. Well I spent some time [= several hours xD;] reading stuff about Bards and the songs and such, and I feel like I could like the job. Right now I think I could even go all the way with it, but I can't say that really until I've tried it. I found out Mithra's have the lowest CHR but from what I've read, that's not gonna be a huge loss. Or is it? I'd hate ending up with a gimpy Bard unable to land anything o.x

Considering that, I've been thinking about leveling other jobs [like PLD and NIN that I oh-so-love] with Lanih and have my Elvaan mule take up Bard. But that's only if I find myself lacking in CHR too much. I'm a perfectionist, so things like this count to me ><; But I've read there's a ton of nice +CHR equip so I guess I'll do fine as a Mithra.

Yet another job to add to my 'Wanting to level these' -list. Sigh, it's really hard to decide on what to level sometimes ^^; PLD, THF and NIN are the ones I wll surely take higher than 40. First PLD and THF when I'm bored, and when my THF is capable of making enough money for Ninjutsu tools, I'll make NIN my main and go all the way with it. That's been the plan for a while now, but I keep coming up with other jobs to level too xD; Right now I'm really enthusiastic about WHM and BRD :P

Stupid game is making me think and decide way too much~ xD

[Drawmuh]

You'll be fine lol , There is so much CHR+ Gear out there that you wont even notice that you have the lowest CHR in the game. Not only that but its not as expensive as other jobs even if you got the best equipment known to Vana'Diel and people will <3 you long time =)

[Lanih]

I fell in love with WHM. I mean, I'm like... totally addicted to it xD I feel like I could even go all the way with it.

I still intend to lv BRD, PLD and NIN someday but right now my WHM's on a roll so I'll keep going~

It's been too long since I last posted pictures so here's something very random.

http://www.rabanastre.org/lanih/046.jpg

Those funny bouncing flowers in the canyons of La Theine made me realize that there's still so much for me to see and learn in Vana'diel ^^ It was really an enlightening and motivating moment. I love La Theine when it rains.

Random note: I'm telling about the bouncing flowers to my cousin in finnish, as you can see in the chatlog.


http://www.rabanastre.org/lanih/047.jpg

Bostaunieux Oubliette reminds me of Full Metal Alchemist, for some weird reason. I have to rewatch the series just because of this, it's bugging the heck out of me now xD

Random note: I just started working on my Sandy-fame before taking this pic and later on got my Drain-scroll.

[Angelhelix]

Don't worry about the low gear. You can easily get some highlevel gear just from searching around.