N'EVER'S JOURNEY THROUGH MSQ

▼ PRE-ARR ✦ Wayward--

N'ever was raised in a poor household in Vesper Bay under the watch of her father, N'fhayr Tia. N'fhayr had left the Aldgoat tribe with N’ever’s pregnant mother with the hope of starting his own tribe, though he would never see it come to pass. Sometime after giving birth, his partner was slain during a run-in with a particularly nasty beastkin, leaving N’fhayr to care for their daughter on his own. He, with an infant N’ever, stopped at the coastal outpost with the intent to gather his bearings and figure out what to do next. In the end, he never left.

Here, N’ever grew up detached from any kind of real community beyond her father, and N’fhayr struggled at times to provide even that for her. The two of them subsisted off of coin earned from hunting beasts in the Foothills and selling their parts to merchants docked at the pier - a living that was stable enough but taxing. As she aged out of childhood and into adolescence, N’ever grew sick of the routine.

In her rebelliousness, N’ever began picking fights and pockets in equal amounts, which in turn drew her father’s ire upon her. They fought often, and with ever greater intensity.

It was on the day of the Calamity that they engaged in a particularly ugly argument - one that would end in N’ever storming off and N’fhayr remaining within their home to brood. That coming night saw the release of Bahamut and the destruction of Vesper Bay in near totality, N’ever home among those reduced to rubble and her father among the casualties.

▼ ARR ✦ The Long Con --

In the wake of the Calamity, N'ever only became more troublesome, relying more and more on thievery to get by. But the more trouble she caused, the more she drew the attention of the Brass Blades. During one close encounter, she was almost apprehended, only managing to escape by stowing away on a ship headed for Limsa Lominsa.

Upon arriving, N'ever immediately found herself in a familiar position - being chased down by a guard. But in a stroke of good luck, the owner of the inn she ran into mistook her for an adventurer he’d been expecting that day and vouched for her character.

Deciding it best to play along, she took on the position, pretending to be an upstanding adventurer until she could find a way safely back to Vesper Bay.

It was under this facade that she came to meet the Scions and was accepted into their fold. Though she couldn’t turn away the free room and board they provided her, she always felt uneasy among their ranks of earnest and good-hearted people. Yet each time she devised a way to slip out on them and return to her old life, they begged something new of her, or offered another reward, or gently gave a word of praise that kept her rooted in the Waking Sands.

And when a time came that finally offered her the perfect opportunity to defect - Livia's brutal raid on their headquarters - she instead found herself craving vengeance.

ARR PATCHES ✦ 2.1-2.5 --

When the dust had settled and Gaius van Baelsar lay buried under the rubble of Castrum Meridianum, N’ever felt… not quite happy, but tentatively optimistic. The first time she’d felt so in her adult life. For a time, she whiled away her time working for the miner’s guild and learning goldsmithing, occasionally pulled away by Scion business. She was less eager to flee, now that a seed of affection for them had been planted, but the title of Warrior of Light felt heavy and ill-fitting, so she kept her distance.

N’ever was relieved, actually, when Alphinaud announced his new Grand Company. She was eager to pass the responsibilities of “hero” off to them. It was perhaps her impatience in this regard that made her overlook the warning signs.

By the time she started to catch on to the reality of the Crystal Braves, she was already in their trap - easy prey for the likes of Teledji Adeledji. In one swift evening, what semblance of a stable life she’d managed to claim for herself was unceremoniously uprooted. She was a criminal again, alone and fleeing.

▼ HVW ✦ Dark Retreat --

N’ever distanced herself from Alphinaud and Tataru upon entering Ishgard, disillusioned with the Scions and unwilling to let herself be vulnerable like that again. She retreated to the Brume, far away from the prying eyes of House Fortemps and Aymeric and his Temple Knights. It was there that she chanced upon the corpse of a dark knight and took up the path herself.

Fray Esteem, the manifestation of darkness in her heart, had always been part of her, but now she heard its voice more clearly and felt its encouragement more keenly. While Alphinaud worked tirelessly for the good of Ishgard, N’ever caused trouble, particularly for ishgardian authorities.

This is how N’ever came to be tried for heresy before the Church.

Even after winning her trial by combat, though, Church officials were loathe to let her remain in the city unpunished. It was only thanks to Alphinaud that they reached an agreement that didn’t end in N’ever’s imprisonment or execution - she was to accompany sir Estinien, azure dragoon, on his mission into the Dravanian Forelands. This would remove her from Ishgard and keep her under strict supervision.

For N’ever, it was a miserable prospect, but she preferred living. So she, Estinien, Alphinaud, and (eventually) Ysayle embarked on their peace mission. The bickering amongst them was constant and near-endless, and yet somehow they managed to see their journey to its end - a failed parley with Hraesvelgar and the slaying of Nidhogg.

And her reward for this would be Haurchefant’s death at the hands of the Heaven’s Ward. It would’ve been an exaggeration to say that N’ever was close to him, but he’d been the only Ishgardian to have treated her with kindness and friendship no matter what she did. She realized, when he lay dying, that that had meant something to her.

So, in the horrible aftermath, she could do naught else but pursue the Archbishop and his knights with a single-minded fervor until they were slain.

HW PATCHES ✦ 3.1-3.5 --

Killing Thordan didn't bring N'ever any kind of relief or satisfaction. Mostly, once the dust had settled, she found that she didn't feel much of anything.

She was still unwelcome in most of Ishgard outside the Brume - doubly so perhaps now that she had the Archbishop’s blood on her hands - so she kept mostly out of the city, instead spending her time amongst the Redbills, with Sidurgu and Rielle, and answering Tataru's call when she'd caught wind of the whereabouts of the other Scions.

It was during this time she encountered the Warriors of Darkness, and a fierce rivalry ignited between N'ever and their leader. She couldn't have cared less about their goals or their motives. Something about this "Arbert" pissed her off, and she was all too keen to be baited into fighting him if it meant getting a chance to blow off some steam.

And yet even that, in the end, did nothing for her. The rivalry quickly fizzled out when Hydaelyn intervened, her empty anger paling before Ardbert’s desperate, hopeless rancor. The Warriors of Darkness were sent off alongside Minfilia, and all N’ever was left with the feeling that Hydaelyn didn’t deserve her trust.

▼ STB ✦ Old Habits --

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STB PATCHES ✦ 4.1-4.5 --

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▼ SHB ✦ Self-made Chains --

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SHB PATCHES ✦ 5.1-5.5 --

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▼ ENW ✦ Hand Outstretched --

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ENW PATCHES ✦ 6.1-6.5 --

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