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Thancred ([personal profile] wordsinthesoul) wrote2020-07-29 01:24 am

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Given he’s found he can’t teleport, Thancred spends the next while around Sohm Al and the Dravanian Forelands, eventually trading with the Vath- a group of bug-like people who have split off from the rest of the colony, known as the Gnath and/or Onemind. The Gnath have a primal, so Thancred assumes that eventually they will summon that primal, the Warrior of Light and the other Scions will find out about it, and that’ll be his best chance of everyone finding each other. He’s mostly right- almost entirely right; the only thing he didn’t account for is another group of five people who are apparently also blessed with the Echo and a desire to blame primals, enough to get to the Gnath hive first. A fight ensues, Thancred diving in to make a heroic entrance, and the new group reveal themselves as the Warriors of Darkness, bound to oppose them.

First, though, Thancred joins the others in travelling to Ishgard- now trying to come to terms with the lies of the Dragonsong War, and look to the future. A group of people resistant to change have set in motion plans to try and dismantle those changes in Ishgard, including arson and taking the people who had to flee the fires hostage. Thancred joins in thwarting that, helping to rescue most of the hostages- though one of the children was rescued just in time by the dragon Vidofnir, who passes on the message that while she and hers will choose peace, Nidhogg is on the move.

- For the moment, the Scions decide to turn their attention to finding Minfilia. Since Hydaelyn spoke to her before she vanished, they decide to take readings from the other place where they know Hydaelyn intervened- the Praetorium. Krile, of the Sons of Baldension and another scholar of Sharlayan, goes with Thancred to get in and take those readings- Minfilia was a close friend of hers. She tries to prod a reaction out of him- she’s heard about his charm, although in this case Thancred is staying focused on the task- a mix of the memory of Lahabrea and wanting to find Minfilia again. They travel to the Sil’dih Waterways, which gives a similar reading- but no trail to pick up by which to find Minfilia. Krile theorises that Hydaelyn may have called Minfilia to her, and thus unto the aetherial sea.

The group travels to speak with Matoya, who’s been watching over the entrance to the structure built by Sharlayan to observe the aetherial sea- the Antitower. Thancred is eager to join the Warrior, but Matoya tells him not to be so foolish- in his state, he can’t take it. And so he waits with the others as their friend goes, hoping for the best.

When they return, however, it is without Minfilia.

It’s bad news all down, really, as the Warrior tells them Minfilia has given her power to Hydaelyn as the Mothercrystal has weakened, in so doing becoming the Word of the Mother. The likeliest outcome of this is that Minfilia isn’t coming back, and Thancred leaves Matoya’s cave without a word. He’s grimmer after this, more jaded- sharper around the edges.

Lucia and Artoirel are preparing for the peace talks with Vidofnir. All seems well for a time- until a group of protestors arise, climbing to shout their protest against the past being forgotten, the losses of kin left unpaid. Thancred goes to find the Warrior and get their help, only to find they have been drugged- and in the end it makes little difference, as Emmanelain makes a bad choice and the leading protestor is shot. Matters dissolve into disorder and chaos, leaving those who had come to listen disillusioned, and others injured- among them, Emmanelain’s manservant Honorait. Emmanelain demands to know what he should have done, and Thancred tells him to stop looking to others. Infuriated, Emmanelain punches Thancred, claiming everything Thancred does seems celebrated- and Thancred responds in kind- because he has tried, and lost. There are always consequences.

There is a Grand Melee to be held between the forces of the Eorzean Alliance. With everything that’s just happened, Aymeric believes an Ishgardian victory would help morale, and aid in their suit for peace, enlisting the aid of the Warrior of Light in this. Thancred goes along to watch- perhaps partly to see if Emmanelain’s improved, or simply to see friends- he’s known Raubahn and Nanamo for several years, after all. He intercedes when a cyclops threatens to interrupt, leading it away and probably getting himself injured- they’re at least at big as you think they are, and carry clubs. Good choice to a rogue to take on.

The peace talks resume- and this time Nidhogg interrupts, attacking Vidofnir, and so rousing the ire of Ishgard’s people once more. You’d think no one wanted peace over here. This seems something the others are more suited to- as Thancred picks up that one of the Warriors of Darkness has been watching his friends, and decides to trail him in hopes on learning more. …and also presumably not having to deal with the others wanting to talk about his feelings. They’re all bad, in any case.

In time, it turns out he’s not the only one trying to tail them- and Thancred intercedes just in time to keep Alisaie from being attacked by the Warriors in the Shroud. The two flee towards Ishgard, but in the process the Ranger hits Alisaie with a poisoned arrow. Alisaie is able to tell the Warrior that those of Darkness are on the move, planning to encourage the tribes to summon the primals in ever-increasing desperation. Alphinaud and the Warrior set out for Xelphatol to prevent the summoning of Garuda, while Thancred remains in Ishgard to help look after Alisaie. Once the others come back, successful, the group decides to divvy up their forces to deal with any other potential caches of crystals and summonings. Thancred goes with Aymeric to deal with any potential complications from the Gnath, and aids in uncovering some of the smugglers who had been planning to transport crystals to the tribe. Only one shipment had made it through- set for Thanalan, and traded by the Ala Mhigan Resistance Group called the Masks to the Amal’jaa.

Fearing the summoning of Ifrit, Thancred and the others made their way into Zahar’ak, only to find the Warriors of Darkness waiting for them, rather than the primal. The group fought, but the Warriors rose again, using the powers of the crystals they carried. Their leader binds the group completely, chains leaving no escape- but Urianger makes his move, freeing Thancred and the others and giving them another opportunity to best the Warriors of darkness. At the last, the Warriors resolve to use their crystals to escape, whereupon Urianger entreats the Warrior of Light to raise their crystal. With all crystals raised, all are then brought to a place within Hydaelyn’s presence, gifting the Mothercrystal with Light enough to allow Minfilia to speak to them all as herself. Now the Emissary of the Mothercrystal, she determines that she will travel to the shard they came from, which has been near covered in Light, and attempt to rebalance that. However, there is no guarantee that she will return, and so Thancred does his best to say goodbye to her with a smile.

The group gets teleported back to South Thanalan. Thancred heads back into the Amal’jaa territory to claim the crystals before they can be used, making his way back to the Rising Stones once they are delivered into safe hands. There, the Scions speak of the future. Thancred has mixed feelings about Urianger’s recent actions, but… at the same time, he can see that it weighs on Urianger, and speaks to still offer Urianger a place with them.

The Scions mean to go on much as before- and then an injured member of the Resistance appears- M’naago, a friend of Yda’s. She brings news that the Griffin, leader of the Masks, intends to make his move- dragging the rest of the Eorzean Alliance into the fight if they are not prepared. The leaders of the Alliance decide to move troops to the East Shroud to keep an eye on the Wall between the Shroud and occupied lands. On hearing this, Yda claims she wants to try to negotiate with the Resistance first. Thancred, Papalymo and Yugiri go with her, sneaking through- but meanwhile, the Griffin has made his move and fighting has begun on the Wall. At the top, the Griffin reveals his plan- to summon a primal by the power of Nidhogg’s eyes and the desperation of the Resistance members. As the primal begins to take shape, Papalymo steps forward, preparing a spell to contain it- knowing full well this will mean his death. Papalymo bids Thancred take Yda away, to live. Yda is hurting, and Thancred offers to be the person she places the blame on- another burden he feels he can manage, most likely.

It’s not exactly clear what Thancred does between this point and the Warrior of Light and company’s awakening of Omega- given his background, though, it seems likely he was involved in trying to gather information on the primal, how Papalymo’s containment fared, and how the Garlean forces reacted (drawing back further east). Once the primal- named Shinryuu, for Doman legend- is dealt with, Yda reveals that she is Lyse, Yda’s younger sister- and that she took up her sister’s mantle to deal with Yda’s death some years before.

As the Alliance prepares to move east, and to treat with the current Ala Mhigan Resistance, Thancred volunteers to stay in Eorzea to help keep an eye on matters there, primal and Ascian related alike. (And, y’know. Better access to bugging Urianger, probably.)

He joins the others east of the Wall when news comes that Krile has been kidnapped, heading into imperial territory to find out what he can. He eventually discovers that Krile has been taken to a research facility called the Resonantorium in Ala Mhigo proper, discovering also that the imperial scientists have been experimenting on ways to enable Garleans to manipulate aether. He heads back to the others, to see what plan of attack they can work out. With the aid of one of the other Resistance members, they make their way through an underwater tunnel into the city proper, opening the gates to allow the Resistance to enter the city in force. Thancred, Lyse, Alphinaud and the Warrior head to the Resonantorium, where they face off with Fordola and imperial guards. Lyse and the Warrior best Fordola, taking her prisoner- though Fordola warns Zenos, the current viceroy, possesses a power to rival primals. Alphinaud finds Krile in a coffin-like structure in the middle of the facility, and heads back with her to rejoin the main force while Thancred stays in the city to assist there.

The Eorzean Alliance and the Resistance make their attack on Ala Mhigo proper- we’re not shown what Thancred gets up to, but it feels safe to assume he’s assisting in the fight. Zenos is bested by the Warrior, even when possessing Shinryuu, and with his death the head of the Garlean threat is larger cut off here.

Attention turns to the future of Ala Mhigo. Lyse has called for representatives from all the settlements within Gyr Abania, and they have responded- including the Qalyana, a group of Ananta who had previously summoned their primal. Thancred and Y’shtola join the group to keep an eye on proceedings within and without the meeting, but the Qalyana representatives still summon the goddess inside, calling those who have been enthralled to assist. The Warrior of Light, Arenvald of the Scions, Lyse, Raubahn, and- at Lyse’s request- Fordola took on the primal, while Thancred and the others were involved in stopping those outside already enthralled by the primal.

The council is reconvened, and things settle down. Enough that the Warrior and the twins head to Kugane, on the basis that Hancock, an Eorzean expat there for business reasons, has news. It’s not something Thancred gets super involved in, as he’s occupied seeing that Ala Mhigo’s Saltery gets up and running, but there are some things that come to light. These include the employment of a relic to empower another primal, the existence of a group within Garlemald who are campaigning for reform in administration called the Populares, and the fact that Zenos is actually still alive, despite having cut his neck. (Wrappings: clearly the solution.). Further, in the interests of uncovering potential Ascian interference, and attempting to strike a negotiate, Alphinaud volunteers to travel to Garlemald to do what he can.

Accordingly, when the Warrior and Alisaie return to Gyr Abania, they decide to examine the place where Zenos’ remains were interred- and find the grave empty. While Thancred says a doppelgänger might be possible, he agrees that the most likely answer is Ascian possession, and goes to see whether a body was indeed interred in the plot. The gravekeepers confirm that there was, and Thancred takes this information back to the others. With this information, they decide to act as though Zenos is indeed possessed, and Thancred volunteers to travel to Garlemald’s western provinces to learn what he can there.

He does acquire information, and information he feels necessary to report in person. Several other rebellions arose, though with little success and much reprisal. Doma’s shinobi are helping to keep people informed, and the Alliance is passing materials- so hope remains. He confirms Zenos is, apparently, well enough to be touring, and putting fear into people. But the information he wishes to pass on is that he heard no rumours of Alphinaud in the capital- but heard Alphinaud speaking through a linkpearl meant for covert operations- two words only, ‘The Burn’. Alisaie recognises this as the wasteland on the edge of Othard, and she and the Warrior head there while Thancred takes in hand preparations for an Alliance council discussing the Ascian threat.

The council convenes in Ala Mhigo to discuss what can be done. Negotiation with the Empire seems unlikely, and confrontation is likely to be hard on the allied nations. Aymeric suggests targeting the Ascians, and Thancred suggests a campaign of subterfuge- a rumour of the truth, that the crown prince is inhabited by a servant of darkness, taking advantage of previous rumours about Zenos’ death to sow unease and an opportunity for the factions within Garlemald to grasp at. Hien offers the services of Doma’s shinobi, and the leaders of the nations agree to it- at which point, Thancred, Y’shtola, Alisaie and the Warrior are seized by a vision of sorts- and Thancred collapses.

Overall, while events have been trying- at this point Thancred’s in a reasonably good place. He does make some quips, at times, though there’re fewer attempts at charm after the Antitower. He’s a little more pragmatic, and trying to do what he can as best he can.