Listen well, Forename. This will take some time to explain.

I've prepared these letters for my counterparts in the Eorzean Alliance.

---

Five years ago, we looked on, powerless, as our brothers and sisters were taken from us at Carteneau—first by the Garleans, and then by the thrice-damned primal called forth by their treachery.

---

Not a day goes by that I do not think of my fallen comrades...

---

...And of the Warriors of Light, of whom no trace remained.

---

The tragedies of the Calamity are not so easily forgotten—nor should they be. In remembering all we've lost, we're reminded of what we still have.

---

And so I mean to mark the fifth anniversary of the Battle of Carteneau with a memorial service honoring the fallen.

---

It is my hope that my counterparts in the Alliance will agree to do the same.

---

And I would have you bear my words to them as my personal envoy.

---

Why you? Because your deeds mark you as the nearest thing I have to a Warrior of Light. I can think of none more worthy of the role. The question is: will you accept it?

---

Then it is agreed!

---

You will journey to Gridania and Limsa Lominsa as my official representative.

---

Now, that's a great many malms to travel, but I've neither the time nor the patience to wait around while you do it on foot.

---

I hereby grant you permission to use the airship routes connecting the three city-states. This pass serves as proof of your privilege.

---

Gone are the days when airship travel was available to all.

---

The ever-present threat of imperial attack has forced us to impose drastic restrictions out of concern for public safety.

---

These passes are only granted when circumstance demands it—as in this case.

---

Though there were others who insisted you be granted one regardless.

---

Aye, Forename, I am not alone in seeing it...

---

Your potential is plain.

---

But I have said enough, in the name of the sultana, I bid you go forth.

---

See for yourself the wonders of the realm for which the Warriors of Light risked all. Rise to your calling and fulfill your promise

---

And should your path be barred by man or beast, strike fast and true, for victory belongs to the bold.

---

Now go, Forename, and heed the Crystal's guidance should you ever lose your way.

Ah! Back from your meetin' with Raubahn, are you? What did the big man have to say?

---

Is that a fact!?

---

Personal envoy of the Flame General himself!

---

So you'll be bearin' the great man's words to the leaders of the Alliance, will you? And by airship! Bugger me...that's an honor and half, that is.

---

...But I can't think of anyone who deserves it more.

---

I'm proud of you, Forename. I truly am.

---

Now, I daresay Raubahn told you this, but not many people get to go on airships, these days. In fact, most folk go to their graves havin' never once seen Eorzea from above...

---

Poor buggers shuffle off to meet Thal havin' never known the blues of Limsa Lominsa's shimmerin' seas, or the myriad greens of leafy Gridania...

---

But not you, Forename. You'll see those sights and more, and everywhere you go, you'll find fascinatin' folk with fascinatin' tales to tell.

---

The people you meet, the places you go─savor these experiences...

---

For they are priceless, all.

---

Sayin' that, it'd be remiss of me if I didn't remind you to be careful out there.

---

Ul'dah ain't the only place beset by troubles, as you'll discover when you visit Limsa and Gridania.

---

Truth be told, that might well be exactly what the general wants you to realize. I think he knows what kind of man you are, Forename.

---

And what kind's that, you ask? Why, the kind that can't resist stickin' his nose in other people's business, of course─and don't you ever go changin'!

---

Safe travels, Forename! I'll see you when you get back.

Greetings, sir. This is the reservation counter for passengers traveling to Limsa Lominsa.

---

If I'm not mistaken, you are the Flame General's envoy, Forename Surname, yes? Highwind Skyways is at your service. Will you be flying with us today?

---

---

---

Attention, all passengers: the airship bound for Limsa Lominsa is about to depart. Please make your way to the boarding gate.

When first we met beneath the Sultantree, I sensed there was something unusual about him. I wonder if they will feel the same...

Godsspeed, Forename, godsspeed!

---

If I'm right, they'll be singin' your praises from here to the Farreach before long

---

May you always walk in the light of the Crystal...

It has been fifteen years, but the bitter taste of defeat lingers still...

---

Fifteen years since the imperial fleet set course for Mor Dhona,

---

led by the Agrius, mightiest of all vessels.

---

Silvertear Lake lay ripe for the taking,

---

and all of Eorzea would soon be ours...

---

or so we believed.

---

But an innumerable host of dragons met us that day,

---

at the heart of which flew the great Midgardsormr.

---

Though we succeeded in slaying that lord among wyrms,

---

the dread serpent's defeat was bought at too high a price.

---

Our invincible flagship was lost,

---

and all hope of victory with her.

---

So ended our glorious conquest.

---

Eorzea... A blighted realm, riddled with false gods...

---

Twice now it has eluded the Empire's grasp.

---

For all the destruction it wrought, even Meteor, the Great Sin, failed to yield us control over it.

---

And for this failure, the realm has sunk deeper into depravity.

---

It is twisted beyond all reckoning─rotten nigh to the core.

---

Yet it must be saved.

---

Only Garlean rule can bring order to Eorzea. It falls to us to deliver the misguided masses from their ignorance.

Senior engineers, please report to magitek research following the scheduled inspection.

Hey. Is the legatus really planning to take another tilt at Eorzea?

Eh!? What hole have you been hiding in? We're in the midst of preparing for a new campaign, and a huge one at that!

But...I thought the Emperor had given up the western lands for lost after Carteneau. What could the legatus possibly hope to gain by acting alone?

I sense you harbor certain doubts over the wisdom of the legatus's plan.

M-My lord!

Please, call me Nero. Tell me, where were you born?

Othard, milord!

Ala Mhigo, my lord!

Ah, Codename Hummingway, I presume?

I-I don't know what you─

Silence. Your denials will not change your fate.

---

I assure you─Frumentarium sees all.

Argh...

Clean up this mess. And do not miss any, or I shall be most displeased.

A-At once, milord!

Garlond... Soon you will be made to know the true power of magitek.

Ah, you must be the envoy from Ul'dah! Welcome to Limsa Lominsa, sir. Admiral Bloefhiswyn awaits your arrival.

---

You are the Ul'dahn envoy? Welcome to Limsa Lominsa.

---

The Admiral has been looking forward to your arrival.

---

Please proceed to the Crow's Lift at your earliest convenience. It will take you to Bulwark Hall.

---

Once there, pray speak with Zanthael. He will be pleased to show you in to the Admiral's command room on the Bridge.

---

Greetings, sir, and welcome to our fair city. If you would permit me to examine the seal on the missive you carry...

---

Yes, everything seems to be in order. My apologies. We cannot afford to be complacent, you understand. Please, step this way.

Enter.

---

So the silver-tongued merchants send an adventurer to speak for them. It appears the Ul'dahns place great faith in you.

---

This way.

---

I bid you welcome.

---

I am Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn, Admiral of Limsa Lominsa, and commander of the Maelstrom.

---

Now, what news from Thanalan?

---

Hm. A memorial service to honor the fallen.

---

Seven hells... Has it been five years?

---

Five years since the Garlean Empire sought to wrest Eorzea from our grasp...

---

It was in answer to the imperial threat that the city-states formed the Grand Companies, and forged the Eorzean Alliance anew. But Garlemald was not content to wager all on a simple contest of martial might. They had other plans─the Meteor project.

---

Legatus Nael van Darnus─hells take him─intended to “cleanse” our realm by snatching the lesser moon, Dalamud, from the heavens and casting it down upon our heads. Desperate to prevent this lunatic scheme, we marched our forces to the Carteneau Flats and there met the VIIth Imperial Legion in battle.

---

Never have I seen a fight like the Battle of Carteneau─and I have seen full many.

---

But though we gave no quarter, spared not one onze of effort...we could not prevent what followed.

---

From inside the shell of Dalamud came a winged nightmare─a dragon the size of a bloody city. 'Twas the elder primal Bahamut, bent on making an eighth hell of Eorzea.

---

In the space of a breath, the legions of the Empire were set aflame, while our own armies fared little better. 'Twas as if the whole world was burning... Words cannot well describe the scene.

---

And yet...by some miracle, a few among us were spared.

---

Even as I steeled myself for death, a blinding white light enveloped me, robbing me of my senses.

---

When I regained them, the dragon was gone, and the still-smoldering land was warped beyond all knowing.

---

Were Archon Louisoix still with us, he would doubtless shed some light on these unfathomable happenings. Alas, he is not, and I fear we will want for his wisdom in the days to come.

---

For while our nations struggle to recover from the devastation, the beastmen call forth their damned primals to torment us anew.

---

Unless we put aside our differences and rebuild now, our foes will catch us unprepared.

---

And I speak not only of the beastmen. Do not imagine that the Empire has forsaken its claim on Eorzea. The imperials crowd our borders, waiting to strike.

---

Damn it all, we need champions to replace those we lost...

---

But such thoughts are worse than worthless. Time is short, and none will save us, save ourselves. It is the duty of every soul who survived the Calamity to work together for the good of Eorzea...and this memorial service may be the very thing to unite us.

---

Aye, Raubahn has the right of it. I accept his proposal.

---

Your duty is done here, adventurer─I will see to it that the Flame General receives my reply.

---

You travel next to Gridania, yes?

---

Pray give my regards to the Elder Seedseer. Oh, and tell her the wolf has been sniffing around the stables. A private jest─and one in poor taste─but I would have you tell it all the same.

---

Fare you well, Forename. May the Navigator guide you on your journey.

Greetings, sir. This is the counter for passengers traveling to Gridania.

---

A pleasure to serve you again, sir. Are you ready to board the airship to Gridania?

---

---

---

Ah, you must be the envoy from Ul'dah! Welcome to Gridania, sir. The Elder Seedseer awaits your arrival.

---

Greetings, good sir.

---

You are the Ul'dahn envoy, are you not? I have received instructions to assist you.

---

Pray make your way into the city proper, and identify yourself to the conjurer at Nophica's Altar. She will admit you to the Lotus Stand, where the Elder Seedseer awaits.

You are the Ul'dahn envoy? Begging your pardons, sir, but might I inspect the missive you bear?

---

Verily, this is the seal of the supreme commander of the Immortal Flames. Please come with me.

So you are the Ul'dahn envoy.

---

On behalf of our fair nation, I bid you welcome.

---

Please.

---

Allow me to introduce myself.

---

I am Kan-E-Senna, Elder Seedseer of Gridania, and leader of the Order of the Twin Adder, our nation's Grand Company.

---

I understand you bear a message from the Flame General.

---

A remembrance service for the fallen of Carteneau...

---

Pray tell me, adventurer─what do you know of our conflict with the Empire?

---

It would seem my counterparts recounted the tale in some detail. That is well.

---

Hm? A message from the Admiral? ...A wolf has been sniffing around her stables, you say? I see. Well, I shall be pleased to provide her with such counsel as I am able

---

But first, friend of my friend, I would tell you more of the Garlean threat.

---

For the greater part of its history, Garlemald was not even among the most influential nations in Ilsabard, the northern continent. However, its innovations in the field of magitek, some fifty years past, helped to raise it from the depths of obscurity.

---

Emboldened by this technology, it set about subjugating its neighbors, swiftly absorbing each into its ever-expanding territory. And when all of Ilsabard lay within its grasp, it turned its ravenous gaze upon Eorzea.

---

Yet Garlemald's transformation did not come about by virtue of magitek alone. Its success owed much to the consummate leadership of its first and reigning emperor.

---

Solus zos Galvus─the man who built an empire in his own lifetime. Yet he has lived long, and after more than four score winters, it is said that he grows frail, and ever more prone to illness.

---

If rumors are to be believed, the matter of succession has destabilized the imperial court. This would explain the Empire's relative inactivity in recent years, which has granted us much-needed time to rebuild.

---

Yet we cannot allow ourselves to become complacent, for Garlemald still maintains a presence in Eorzea, in the form of the XIVth Imperial Legion.

---

Commanding this great host is Legatus Gaius van Baelsar, a man whose ambitions are well known to us. So long as he breathes Eorzean air, none of us may sleep easy.

---

The Calamity wreaked such devastation upon the realm that it has been all we could do to nurse our wounds, never mind rebuild our defenses. Simply put, we have not the strength to repel the Empire.

---

To add to our woes, the beast tribes continue to summon their primals, whose very existence is a bane upon the land.

---

Each nation is beset with its own primal problem; none has the resources to look beyond its own borders.

---

The Admiral desires my counsel regarding a brazen wolf

---

She means to tell me that the Empire may soon resume its advance.

---

Though the primals pose an undeniable threat to our survival, the threat posed by the Garleans is greater still. Clearly, each nation can no longer afford to think only of that which occurs within its own borders.

---

A storm gathers upon the horizon. If we are to weather it, we must needs stand united once more. A remembrance service may help to rekindle the spirit of unity which brought the peoples of Eorzea together when last the Empire threatened our liberty.

---

The Flame General was wise to make his proposal, and I wholeheartedly approve of it. The necessary provisions shall be made for a service here in Gridania.

---

Your work here is done, my friend. I shall send my reply to the Flame General forthwith.

---

I thank you for coming. May the Twelve see you safely home.